Zootopia: The Mystery of the Missing Orphanage
by Cream the Cat 2
Summary: An orphanage has mysteriously disappeared from Savannah Central, and only two of its children remain on the streets. Even worse, both children seem more fixated on driving each other nuts than finding their home. With a building's worth of children missing, it's up to Zootopia's two top cops to find them and set things right...if they can just get those kids to behave.
1. Introduction

They call me Cream the Cat.

This is the only name you will need to know or address me by because aside from narrating the events I have documented, I will have absolutely no involvement in this story.

I understand that a great many readers of documentaries such as this one are awed at the brave duo of police officers, Nicholas Wilde and Judith Hopps. I also understand that they adore the thought of them being strong and supportive lovers, braving many dangers together in order to save the day, and more importantly, cement their love for one another.

I understand that you love the thought of these two officers stripping their clothes off with their fangs and their claws and doing…otherwise unmentionable things to each other. To those who are in love with these things, and all that follow behind them, I regret to inform you, that this is not the story that I will be documenting. If this is inconvenient for you, and if you wanted to see these officers do things…unmentionable, then leave.

But if you are contempt with this, and you do wish to see what I have to say; If you wish to read a story of mystery, courage, and an extensive use of duct tape, then I will advise you to stay. Stay and read my documentary as I lead you down a road of questions that will only be answered when the story ends.

For that, is how my story is told. Or let me rephrase: That is how _their_ story is told.

…

The hardest part of writing this documentary is pinpointing where exactly it all began. I looked long and hard for finding the right moment to begin, and ultimately decided that it should begin with Judith Laverne Hopps.

Now, many of Zootopia's populace would know Judith as the rookie officer who solved a very important mystery known as 'The night howler case'; a mystery that determined equality among predators and prey, as well as demonstrating to the young bunny that reality is not black and white, cops and robbers, good and evil. Real life is complicated in many different ways.

A great many of her coworkers knew her as a by-the-book, upbeat officer who loved her job and loved her friends. In many cases they were right. Hopps was what they said, but as I myself would learn in time, there was a little more to her than that.

In time, I'd learn to understand her the way her closest friends and family knew her; an enthusiastic and caring individual who always put her own problems aside for the most important moments, whether it was on the job, or in personal matters.

Sometimes these personal matters would involve her partner, Nicolas Piberius Wilde. Many of the city's populace, his friends, his family, and his partner all knew _him_ as a sly, cunning, and sometimes smart-mouthed street hustler who was successful at doing what he did. I myself know that last part from experience. But _my_ issues with him aren't important.

What is important, is Judy Hopps, out alone, on a simple Thursday dusk.

…

Hopps had been serving in Zootopia's precinct one for about a year now. Nothing was quite as exciting as her first case however, usually just a few small-time robberies and theft, which usually escalated into some minor drama, if nothing else. Today wasn't quite that different. The only real difference between today and most other days was the overall humidity. Almost all of savannah central had been damp for her entire shift, and if it wasn't for that car chase, and her partner's wisecracking, she may not have made it through the day so easily.

Now the day was over, her shift had ended, and she had just finished a shower in the female's locker room. Hopps had just finished putting her shirt on, and was now securing her vest. Hopps had been eager to get home and find some nice quiet solitary after the day's events. Something as blood-rushing as a car chase demanded it. She exited the locker room, and found her partner hadn't left yet. He was leaning on the wall, apparently waiting for her.

"Something on your mind, Nick?" she asked with a casual tone. "No, just checking to see if you need me to hold your paw on the way home." He answered.

He wasn't looking at her while he spoke, he was doing something with his phone. But he was smiling, and Hopps _knew_ that he was kidding. Even so, she decided to play along. "Aw, what's wrong? Getting lonely without _Finnick_ and his toot-toot costume?"

Wilde chuckled, and pocketed his phone. "Heh…I care for the guy, but we're not like that with each other." Hopps started to walk away, so Wilde walked with her. "You didn't answer my question though."

Hopps drew out a long breath she didn't know she was saving, and loosened up a little. "No…no I think I should be fine by myself."

The two passed the front desk, where the obese attendant, Benjamin Clawhauser, was bopping his head to something on his own phone. "Later, spots." Nick called out. The happy cheetah merely waved goodbye while merely glancing at them. The two exited the precinct, and Nick cracked his back. "Say carrots, what time is it?" the fox asked. Judy checked her watch, and looked back to her partner. "7:20. Got somewhere you need to be, slick?"

"You know I do, Carrots. It's date night, and Kris is probably getting impatient."

Kris, the sarcastic otter who helped them with that one wedding ring case. Judy still remembered Nick's surprise when she flirted with him, and if it wasn't for her persuasion, he may have never asked her out. "You _did_ know, right?"

Judy smirked. "Of _course_ I did. I was just making sure that _you_ remembered so you wouldn't be late."

"Right…" Nick rubbed the back of his paw with embarrassment. That was not a fun night. "Well, I'd better be off. Second chances don't happen often, and I still need to change. Any last minute unneeded advice you wanna give, now's the time." The fox said as he took off down the street.

"Wear a _plain_ shirt this time!" Judy called out. Again, not a fun night.

Nick merely waved to her without turning around, and Hopps went her own way.

Hopps herself was still quite single in her job. She knew she wasn't getting any younger, but no one in particular caught her eye. A few bucks here and there hit on her every now and again, but usually they were either younger than her, or in the back seat of the cop car. Either way, she wasn't biting.

The late afternoon was fading to dusk, and the bugs were out in full force. She wasn't really sure about predators using bugs for meat, but she had to admit that it was better than what they did in the past. Besides that, she didn't really like them alive. They always ended up biting _her_ instead of Nick, a fact that her partner blamed on her being 'too sweet'.

Hopps didn't usually mind his jokes, but there _were_ times where it had gotten tiresome. Hopps was still without a car of her own since she was saving for a nicer place. The 'Grand Pangolin Arms' had quickly lost its touch after the first week, and her still so very crazy neighbors weren't making it any easier. Thankfully, her salary was promising, and her options were growing. For now though, she just had to suck it up a little while longer.

A little farther up was the bus stop she used to get to her apartment after work. She could see that a few others were waiting for it as well. She couldn't make out who they were since the larger one was wearing a hoodie, as well as in front of whoever else was there, but Hopps could tell it was some kind of feline due to the fur color. Maybe a leopard or something, she wasn't concerned. In honesty, she was more concerned with the smoke that was coming from the half-finished cigarette she was smoking. Hopps wasn't one to smoke, never bothered finding out why mammals did it. But this feline was casually puffing it in, and exhaling it through her nose. She was literally breathing it in and out, and now that Hopps was next to her, she was getting half of that puffing in her face. She wanted to do something about that; tell her to stop, ask her to move, _something_. But none of those things would do…they were all too impolite, and Hopps, being the good soul she was, couldn't bring herself to do that. She'd just have to take it until the bus came.

She certainly didn't want to take it though, the smoke really did reek. She decided to distract herself by looking at the other mammal, and to her minor surprise, it was a rabbit buck. She decided to look at his features. Relatively handsome, she'd suppose. Icy blue eyes, an off-white fur color, nice suit. But his expression forbade her from saying anything to him. His face had this sour, empty, and overall uncaring look, his blue business suit and droopy ears made way for a rather depressing atmosphere. Well-groomed as he may have been, it seemed to be more out of routine than presentation. Okay… _now_ Hopps was starting to miss the smoke.

*shink*

Hopps' ears picked up the sound of metal being exposed. Shortly after, the feline moved one of her arms, and without looking at either of the bunnies, lifted up a single finger. A single assailant. And one with a knife. Hopps understood that.

*clink,clink,clank,clink*

A chain, that's what _that_ sounded like. The feline now held up two fingers. Two assailants, both armed.

*plin*

*plan*

*ban*

Wood. Most likely in the form of hardened instruments and clubs. Now the feline was holding up all five of her fingers. Five assailants, all armed, size, species, and age all unknown. All coming from behind. Hopps glanced to the feline, who was looking at the sunset through some kind of sunglasses. She couldn't make out what they were though. The sunlight was reflecting right off of them, and the bunny couldn't make out the shape. The off-white rabbit on the other hand, didn't move a muscle.

Not like either of them moving or not mattered however, because now the bunny could hear the sound of someone walking towards them. The time on Judy's watch read 7:25. The bus wasn't scheduled to arrive until 7:40. Not good. Both mammals next to her were completely casual however. The feline just took the finished cigarette butt from her mouth, blew out the last of the smoke, and threw the butt on the sidewalk. to her right, the off-white rabbit reached into his suit pocket, and took out a pair of black gloves. Then he began to put them on.

Judy looked down to her police belt, reminding herself that she was still in uniform. She had grown out the arsenal in her belt since her first case. Her fox repellent still stood in its holster, unused, but now she also had new weapons. Including a tranquilizer, a nightstick, and even a real firearm. The last one however, was a weapon she preferred not to use, and never had since getting it, and she carried the hope that she wouldn't ever have to.

"Well, well, well…" a smooth yet sinister voice said from behind them. "Ladies…and off-white bunny buck…"

Hopps turned around, and got a good look at the five assailants. The one who had spoken was a fox, not unlike her partner. But this fox was wearing a red crewneck shirt, and some jeans. His build was actually well toned and his orange eyes gave way to malice. In his paw, he held a switchblade. To his left was a grey lynx wearing a white t-shirt and some slacks. He was the one holding the chain. To his right were three others. A large brown bear in a tank top and shorts, and two skinny wildebeests dress up like punk-rockers. They all had wooden planks.

"I assume this is the part where you tell us to give you our money?" the off-white rabbit said in an uninterested tone. "Well, I would…but I have a feeling that none of you are gonna do that. Especially since one of you is in a police uniform."

Judy was now confused. She got up out of her spot, and faced the assailants. "If you know I'm ZPD, then you _know_ you're making a mistake. Drop your weapons, and stand down _now_." She ordered.

But all the fox did was chuckle as he tossed his weapon in between his paws. "Honey…you're just a _bunny_. I've got a _bear_ on my team. And by the time the _real_ cops come to help you, this fight's gonna be _over_."

The fox looked to his allies, and started pointing at Hopps and the others. "You two take the big girl, Neil, you and I'll take the bunny doe. Marc, take the rabbit buck."

Judy looked up to the bear, Neil. He was certainly a big one. More than that, he was enormous. An enormous criminal. Luckily, her previous training helped her learn how to deal with such situations as that. She just needed an opening.

Behind her, the rabbit got up from his seat, while the feline hadn't moved from her spot. The wildebeests were now in between her, trying to look tough with their wood. The lynx, Marc, was swinging his chain above his head while looking at the rabbit.

As for Hopps, the bear was now swinging. A hard swing to the left, and Hopps sidestepped to the right. A harder swing to the right, and Hopps went to the left. The bear lifted his foot, and tried to step on Hopps. She jumped back. Her large ears told her that the fox was right behind her, and the bear now had his club in front of his face, preparing to swing it over his head to squash the bunny. Bingo.

Instead of preparing to dodge again, the officer turned around, and ran towards the unprepared fox, and jumped on his head. Then, she used a more powerful jump to connect her feet with the bear's club, making him hit himself in the snout. The bear dropped the now broken club, and held his nose in pain. He was now stepping backwards to regain his composure. Another opening. Hopps sprinted behind the large criminal, sliding between his legs, and then started running towards his right foot. She jumped down, landed in a slide, and tripped the bear down onto his back, hitting his head on the pavement.

But he wasn't out yet. He was still conscious, and now he was seeing stars. The bunny would not give him time to get up however, so she quickly took out her nightstick, got on top of the bear's head, and quickly used the tip of her stick to strike the bear at the left side of his forehead. All the bear managed to do was say a simple 'duhh' before passing out. Cold.

The fox, lynx, and wildebeests all witnessed the scene with total shock. One of the wildebeests pointed at Neil with wide eyes. "Please tell me that the little doe did _not_ just take out our big guy in ten seconds flat."

The fox tried to compose himself with what happened, before quickly holding up his knife. "We-we still outnumber them! Stick to the plan, guys!"

"Uh-um…r-right!" Marc said, shaking his head to snap out of it. The lynx started to whip his chain at the rabbit, but all he had to do was bend his body in unison with the chain, dodging it every time. While he did this, he began to slowly approach him. Meanwhile, the wildebeests were looking at the feline, who was still watching the setting sun, ignoring everything else. one of them took a swing at her, but all she did was move her head. The other one took a swing, but she simply caught the object, and pulled, forcing the smaller mammal to hit the bench in the forehead, and let go of his club. Then the feline used the club's tip to strike the other wildebeest in the stomach, and then in the head, several times. He fell to the ground after the fourth hit. Then the felind dropped the club. The first wildebeest tried to regain his senses, but by the time he stopped seeing double, the feline punched him in the face. Hard. The smaller mammal fell to the street unconscious.

The rabbit was now really close to the lynx, who was now swinging with more desperation. Just then, the rabbit caught the chain, pulled it out of Marc's paw, and used it to wrap around Marc's forearm. Then the rabbit jerked, and the lynx was pulled, face first, into the streetlamp. Then the rabbit jerked again, pulling the lynx towards him, and did a jump-kick, hitting the lynx in the face, and causing the back of his head to make contact with the streetlamp, knocking him out.

Hopps on the other paw, was completely composed. The fox however, was not. Every missed swing, he got more and more angered. He tried again and again to hit the bunny, and failed every time. Until finally, the bunny stepped forward, and blocked his next attack with her arm padding. Then the trained officer hit the fox in the face with the same paw, and then her other paw, and then again, and again, and again, and then did her own jump-kick to his face making him drop his knife.

Hopps looked at her watch. 7:37. The fight hadn't lasted that long then. She looked to the fox, who was rubbing his head, and decided that finishing the fight quickly would be best. Thankfully, she knew how to do that. "Guess you were right, this fight _did_ end quickly. Guess I won't be needing backup after all."

That did it. The fox screamed in absolute anger, and charged at the bunny, only for Hopps to pull out her fox repellent, and spray him in the face extensively. Within seconds, the fox's scream of anger was turned to a scream of pain. The repellent had gotten into his eyes, nose, mouth, and lungs. He stepped back, and fell onto his back, holding his face as it started turning the wrong shade of red. "Oh, and by the way?" Hopps continued.

The fox looked at the bunny through teary eyes, as she took out her nightstick again. "I _am_ a real cop!"

She hit the fox in the head the same way she hit the bear. Causing him to do a similar 'uhh' before passing out. The fight was now over, and that last feat wasn't even a minute. Hopps looked to her temporary allies, and saw that neither was scratched, or even fazed at the fight. The rabbit was dusting off his gloves in annoyance, and the feline hadn't even left her spot on the bench. Both of them had been in fights before. No doubt about that. It lead to suspicion. "You know, I have a feeling that you two have had some experience in this kind of thing." She said as she took out her radio.

"Clawhauser, you there?" She started to contact the station, and the rabbit turned to look at her. "Well, I can't speak for the hoodlum on the bench, but I myself have had some years in service, similar to yourself." His voice was cold and calculating, and his tone was bitter and uncaring. The feline didn't speak. "So, you were a cop, too?" Judy was surprised. She thought that _she_ was the city's first rabbit officer. "I never said I served in the police. And I'm not of Zootopia. I'm visiting this city under a business trip."

The bunny had a feeling that that was as much as she was gonna get from the off-white rabbit. She had hung up her comm since Clawhauser promised reinforcements to take care of the criminals. However, she would have to wait for the next bus to arrive since she'd have to make sure that none of these muggers would try running off. Or worse…

Speaking of which, the bus was now arriving. It was clearly audible with mammals, and both the feline, and the rabbit got in. They both paid in coins, and the bus door closed. The bunny, frustrated that she had to wait even longer now, took a deep breath. "Geez…I hope Nick is having a better time than I am."

…

"I can't believe that you have to work with someone like that." The otter chuckled. Nick was dressed in a black button-up, and had it tucked in. he was wearing his normal slacks and tie however. As for his date, Kris was in her normal pink dress, and had a matching purse next to her seat. The restaurant they were at wasn't completely glamourous or anything, but it was still nice enough to not have any grease or loose food on the tables, seats, or floor. "Aw, come on. She might be bossy a lot of the time, but she still means well." The fox replied.

"Hm. Keep that up, and I'll think you like her more than me." The otter threatened in a playful tone. "I might end up confronting her about it."

"Huh. Two lovely ladies fighting over me? How will I cope?" the fox countered. "Oh, please. Like we'll go that far for _you_." Kris said.

The two then laughed together, and the waiter brought their dessert, a slice of white cake each. "Would you like the bill now, sir?" he said. "Yeah, thanks." The fox cop replied.

The waiter nodded and handed it to them while they started eating their cake together. Kris took a sip of her drink, and cleared her throat. "So…Nick? If officers are given anonymous tips, then they can begin investigations into certain areas and buildings, right?" Kris asked. "That's right. Why, is there a problem?" Nick asked as he took another bite.

"Not with me. But there's this orphanage in savannah central? I went there with my sister when she went to adopt, and this manager there: total _idiot_!"

Nick leaned forward. "How so?"

"She's an _idiot_! Those children aren't being properly managed. There was this puppy that put duct tape all over the hallway, and she couldn't even catch him herself! She had to get help from another one of the _kids_ to get him to stop!"

Nick began laughing. Duct tape on the hallway floor? That sounded like a fun time. "Maybe I should go there and meet this kid. He sounds like fun."

Kris chuckled again. "I wouldn't. Unless you're okay with climbing trees and swinging on vines made of tape just to get him in bed."

Then she took another drink. Her cake was done, now her drink was finished too. "Ahem. Anyways, yeah. The manager has no idea what she's doing. I personally think it's the rest of the staff that manages that stuff for her. It may be something for you and the others at the station to look into."

Nick put his card on the bill, and secured it with the paper clip. "Well…if I get any time, I'll definitely check it out." He said with reassurance.

"Thanks, Nick. And thanks for listening to me run my mouth." She said.

"Hey…honey…I have experience with such." He said with his trademark grin.

"Ah, love the sound of your own voice, do you?" and then the two were laughing again.

…

Kris was somewhat bitter on the subject, but she certainly wasn't wrong. The orphanage had a poor manager, but the rest of the staff did well to keep it properly maintained. As for the children she spoke of, well…they are, in a sense, what this documentary is really all about. That is why for the next few chapters, I will be telling this documentary through their eyes. But don't fret. Hopps and Wilde do not check out from here. It is still their job to solve the mystery that lies before them. The audience just needs to know more about these two children before we can go any further…


	2. Chapter 1: Just another day

Silence was one of the things that filled the room that evening. Other things that filled it was the light from the lamp on top of the ceiling, the Chief's heavy breathing, and the younger boy's nervous panting at the sight of the plate that was on the table.

On that plate, was about five or six donuts that had various types of frosting smeared on top of them. Some were brown, others white, some looked glossy, and others did not. Some had sprinkles, others didn't; some looked filled, and others did not.

Chief Bogo silently observed the two children that sat across from him in the interrogation room. The first one was younger, had black and white fur with topaz orange eyes, and had on a grey sport jacket with a yellow zipper. Bogo could see the blue button up shirt that was underneath it, and he could barely make out the brown shade of his jeans. He continuously gave a nervous expression at the sight of the delectable delights presented to him and the older boy.

Speaking of which, the older boy was a little more peculiar. His grey fur was mostly well trimmed, unlike the younger child. His whiskers, short and well managed, rather clashed with the fact that half of his mane was shaved off, giving a rather asymmetrical look. His peridot eyes were calm, and almost gave off no emotion other than the clear annoyance of their predicament. His blue pajamas looked like they were recently washed, or at least would have looked like it if they weren't covered in dirt, much like the boy's grey fur.

Bogo's breathing continued to be the only true sound in the room, until the sound of a tummy girdling broke the near silence. Both the chief and the older boy shifted their eyes to the younger boy, who looked back and forth in worry. Bogo gave off a calm gesture by sliding the plate of donuts towards the younger child.

He looked to the chief, and then to the older boy, and cautiously picked up a vanilla donut from the small pile. He took a long time to examine the sugary treat before noticing a little brown spot. He carefully picked off a large chunk of the donut and swiftly flicked it back onto the plate. He then gave the pastry one last look before giving off a look of relief.

The younger orphan took a small bite out of the donut, before the chief decided it was time to break the silence. "So. I understand that you two are the only orphans who weren't in the orphanage when it vanished, is that correct?" He asked.

The younger orphan silently chewed his donut, while the older one responded. "Yes, that's correct." He said. His voice seemed to be bitter and uncaring, but at the same time, intelligent. The chief put on his reading glasses and looked over the files he was otherwise ignoring previously. He picked up the first one, and looked to the younger boy. "Benjamin Collins. Orphaned at age three thanks to a car crash in Tundratown, and gone to a life of juvenile crime thanks to your orphanage's poor management. We seem to have had problems with you before: Multiple accounts of shoplifting, destruction of public, _and_ private property, and illegal usage of fireworks, according to a very recent incident."

The younger boy silently swallowed what he was chewing before taking another bite. Bigger this time. "You can call me _Benny_." He said with a mouthful. "Let me say at this moment, Benny, that fireworks are a bit dangerous for an eight year old. You understand?" the chief said. Benny nodded.

Then Bogo looked to the older boy. "Now you, we don't have any accounts on you, but we do have some backstory. Adrian Rory, relocated as an exchange student before your parents died overseas. You ended up moving here, and have become rather…unsocial with the others in your new home."

"Sounds about right." Adrian said. "I probably should give you some advice on how to fix that, but I'm not going to do that, because I don't care about your personal problems at this time. What I do care about is the big problem that we've been biting around ever since you two came in here: the missing orphanage."

The two boys looked at each other, and then back to Bogo, who removed his glasses and looked at the two children with a very stern look in his eyes. "Now, we have no solid leads on what happened, other than the two of you, so that means I need you to be very serious with me when I ask you the questions that come next."

"Serious isn't one of Benny's strong suits, chief of police." Adrian said. "You'd be better off getting your information from me."

Bogo looked to the boy and folded his hooved hands as the two had a stare off. Benny continued to hold his silence aside from his chewing and swallowing. "Very well then, Mr. Rory. Let's start at about three days from now, and work our way up from there."

Adrian nodded. "I understand that three days ago was one of many incidents involving Mr. Collins?"

Adrian looked at Benny, who swallowed the last of his donut, before looking at Bogo. "Yes, that's correct."

…Three days ago…

Benny Collins was a dog. (If you were not expecting, nor wanting to see actual cats and dogs in this story, then you may leave at any time. For those who do not care, I advise you to read on.) Benny was a Border collie, black and white fur, scruffy little mane, and a long fluffy tail just like a fox. But he was young. A puppy that was only eight years old. And he resided in the Savannah Central Orphanage.

However, the Savannah Central orphanage was not where he was now. Quite the contrary, the orphanage was the last place anyone would even expect to see him in anyways. Benny Collins was in a tree. A very large, very crooked trunked tree. And that tree overlooked a candy store down below. He watched as the manager of said candy store locked the door and approached his car in the store's parking lot. Benny smiled and jumped onto a vine. On that vine, he swung down to the ground below, out of sight, and away from the eyes of the manager. Benny creeped up to the doors of the candy store, and then ran around to the side that was already covered with wet leaf filled branches.

In the reflection of the mirror, Benny could see his already soaked fur, and bicycle helmet, which he wore for these occasions. His red sweater would not have been required had it have been daytime instead of night, and his green vest, which flowed behind him like a cape when he ran, was damp. His light blue pants held the large rock he'd be needing in a minute, but first, he looked through his backpack to make sure he had what he needed.

Duct tape: Check. Flashlight: Check. Mrs. Tusk's music player: Check.

That was everything. Benny took another look towards the front of the store, and the manager was finally starting to drive away. With that little fact putting him at ease, Benny took out the big rock he had in his pocket, and began to smack it against the window. It slowly began to crack, and when the cracks became big enough, the window broke apart. Benny then proceeded to smash the new hole to make it bigger, and eventually managed to crawl through without getting cut.

Once inside, he looked around, and turned on his flashlight. The store was empty, and the products meant for tomorrow were in stock. Benny walked to the back door of the store, and unlocked it. "Nice to have an easier way out." He said to himself.

The puppy turned on the store's lights, and took a good look around the store. With the lights now on, he was able to notice all the different kinds of candies he was waiting for. Being only eight years old, Benny had to rely on the orphanage for food since he didn't have any money, but their noticeable lack of sugar was really getting him down. So it was times like these that the little fella had to get such things himself. Not that he cared, though. Benny loved taking so many huge risks. It made him feel all the more alive.

The eager little puppy took out a roll of powdery pills from an isle and twisted off the plastic keeping them together. He slowly let them slide into his mouth, and he began to chew as he started putting larger candies in his backpack. Benny made sure that he only put in the fruity kinds of sweets, because he knew what would happen if he got anything even as much as similar as-

"HEY! What do you think you're doing in here?!" a voice shouted from behind him.

Benny swung around, and shined his light on none other than the store manager. He was holding his car keys in one hand, and a bat in the other. Benny swallowed the sugar pills he was chewing, and looked to his left, where the door was.

"I knew that I heard something breaking in here! Did you break the window?! Where are your parents?!" the manager demanded. Benny took a cherry taffy off the shelf, tore off the wrapper, and swiftly flicked it into his mouth. "They're dead." He replied with his mouth full.

And with that said, he dashed towards the exit door, knocking down a shelf in the process. As he ran out of the store, the manager furiously cried out to him. "COME BACK HERE, YOU BLACK AND WHITE NUISANCE!"

…

Mrs. Tusk was looking through her desk drawer for her music player, but couldn't find it anywhere. She had her earphones in her hoof, but they were useless without her music player. Nowhere in her office, she decided to go back to her private room to resume her search. The large elephant was in charge of the orphanage, and both the staff, and the children were really good at getting on her nerves. Fortunately, she was always able to find solace in her music. That was, as long as she had her music player. The walk to the hallway was quiet enough, thankfully. The children were all in bed, and the staff had gone home for the night.

She entered her room, and began her search in her dresser. Nothing. Next she searched her wardrobe. Nothing. Finally, she checked under her bed. Only dust and her old shirt she was looking for. As she put her shirt back in her wardrobe, the realization hit her like a ton of bricks, making her facepalm. "Benny."

She left her room, and went to the room that belonged to the one mammal who could help her now. She quickly arrived thanks to her fast pacing, and knocked on the door. She waited for a good few minutes before knocking again. This time, a ten year old Russian blue opened the door. His usually straight whiskers were crooked from bedhead, and his expression showed a clear annoyance. " _Again_?"

Mrs. Tusk sighed in defeat. " _Again_."

Adrian pinched the bridge of his nose. "Let me get dressed."

He closed the door, and about three minutes later, he was fully dressed in his hay green t shirt, and his blue jeans. He was putting on his azure blue sweater when he opened the door. "I still have no honest idea why you always have to get _me_ to get him when you should be doing it _yourself_." Adrian said with a bitter tone.

"I _know_ that I should be doing it, and I've _tried_ to do it myself. But every time I try to do it, he always gets away from me. _You're_ the only one who can actually catch him." Mrs. Tusk countered.

With a tired look in his eye, Adrian put on his thin black jacket, and stepped out of his room. "You're driving us." He said. "Before I could do that, we should figure out where to go first." The elephant said.

"Well, he's been mentioning a craving for those little powder pills a lot lately. And the Rainforest District is the only place they have those. Let's start there."

…

"HEY, COME BACK HERE!"

Benny was running on the wet pavement of the parking lot as he ran around the store. He zoomed past the cars as he popped another package of powder pills into his mouth. He threw the wrapper over his head and ran onto the wooden bridge that overlooked a large waterfall to a river down below. Benny and the manager ran past a row of sprinklers doing their part to keep the district healthy. The puppy looked over his shoulder to see the manager, red in the face, in hot pursuit. Then the puppy took notice of a large crooked tree not unlike the one he was sitting on almost fifteen minutes ago.

Getting an idea, Benny pulled out a role of duct tape from his backpack, and picked up speed. His vest flew behind him as he got to the tree, and started climbing. The manager wasn't gonna give up so easily however, and he climbed up after him. "I DON'T THINK SO YOU LITTLE THIEF! NOBODY STEALS FROM ME!" he shouted in anger.

"You really need to lighten up, mister!" Benny said in a calmer tone. Now the two were both running on top of a large and wet branch that was right on top of the bridge they were just running on. Benny could see the large amount of other tree branches below the bridge as well. Perfect.

Not wasting any time, Benny started to run backwards to see the manager was starting to slow down. The two had reached the end of the branch, overlooking the waterfall. Benny was able to tell that the manager had calmed down because he wasn't looking as angry now. "Look, kid. I know you like candy as much as the next guy, but that kinda stuff has to be paid for. Now why don't you come over here with the backpack before you fall and hurt yourself?"

Benny looked back down to the waterfall down below, and then to the duct tape he was holding in his hand. Then he looked to the manager, and with a smirk, he thumped his helmet. The manager began to realize what he was about to do. "Hey. Hey, kid. WAIT!"

"Nah."

Benny jumped.

…

Adrian and Mrs. Tusk had just arrived at the candy store, its doors wide open. "Well, he's definitely been here." Adrian commented.

"And what makes you say that?" Mrs. Tusk asked.

"Only someone as irritating as Benny Collins would make someone run after him without locking up their property."

Just then, the two heard shouting from the bridge close by, and saw that on a tree above it, two mammals were standing. One of them was Benny, and he had just jumped. Mrs. Tusk gasped and ran towards the bridge, and Adrian followed. Although Adrian did not share such concern for the puppy's safety. The two watched from the bridge as he fell down to the river below, but then were astonished when they saw Benny swinging as if he were on a vine. Mrs. Tusk couldn't see how this was possible, but Adrian could.

…

As Benny fell, he unrolled his roll of duct tape, and when he fell past the bridge, he flung the roll at a branch, making it wrap around it. Now secure, Benny wrapped the tape he unrolled around his furry wrist just as it tightened. Just like that, he was swinging.

Benny yelled out in excitement as he swung lower down to a safer falling distance. Once he thought he'd be safe enough, he harshly tugged at the tape, making the branch it was wrapped on snap. Now Benny was falling again, and this time he didn't stop till he splashed face first into the water, barely missing a large rock close to him. Benny popped his head out from under the water, and began floating with the calmer current.

…

"Just once, I'd like him to break something so he'd stop." Adrian said with an exasperated tone.

He and Mrs. Tusk ran back to the car, and immediately drove off to follow Benny's trail. Fortunately, the elephant new the layout of the land, and sped to where the river would flow into the larger sea of the rainforest district. The drive down was silent for both the elephant, and the sour kitten.

Soon enough, they got to the bottom of the street that would eventually turn to the soggy grasslands that would, in turn, eventually turn into the beach. The two made it to the sandy area on foot. "This'll probably be where he ends up. How do you think we should get him, Adrian?"

The cat looked around, and noticed that there were several sticks around the dark beach. Then he looked up to see that the trees had several long vines stretching from the branches far above. "Get me one of those vines." He said calmly.

Mrs. Tusk went off to do so, and Adrian started picking up a large amount of sticks. He looked through each one carefully, and tried to bend each one to make sure that they were thin enough to be bendable, but thick enough not to snap. He threw the ones he wouldn't need to the side, and took the ones he would need and put them in a circle. When he finished, he put his hind paws inside of it, and saw that the circle he made was compact. Just as he had planned. Mrs. Tusk returned with the vine, and gave it to Adrian. The boy kitten proceeded to use the vine to tie all of the sticks together, until finally managing to fashion it into a makeshift life buoy.

"Huh. Smart thinking, Adrian. I never would've thought of that." Mrs. Tusk commented, clearly impressed.

"Of course you wouldn't have. Now move aside, he's here."

Adrian watched as Benny began to drift to shore, paddling to keep his head above water. Benny had no problem with swimming, but he _was_ getting tired. Adrian began to swing the buoy over his head with the large remains of unused vine, and threw it at the puppy. It landed a few feet from his head. Fortunately, the puppy saw it, and wrapped his arm around it. Then Adrian began to pull, and in no time at all, he was on the beach, soaking wet, and covered in sand. The little puppy got to his feet, and after taking off his backpack, he shook himself dry.

"BENJAMIN MAXWELL COLLINS!" Mrs. Tusk shouted. Benny's ears drooped a little at the sight of the massive elephant rushing up to him. "Good thing I'm wearing a helmet." He said quietly.

The elephant woman picked the little puppy up, and squeezed him in a big relieved hug. "Thank goodness, you're safe."

Then she stopped hugging him and held him by his sides to scold him. "That was a very wrong thing you did, Benjamin. Stealing that candy was bad enough, but jumping off of a tree! You could've gotten killed!"

"Hooray." Adrian said in the distance.

"Maybe I could have. But I didn't. And besides, I was prepared for it. That's why I brought Charlie's helmet."

Mrs. Tusk looked at the bicycle helmet he was wearing and realized that it indeed belonged to Charlie. The piglet who was recovering from a stomach bug. Before she could comment on this, the manager came down. Out of breath. He had ran the whole way to follow their car. "Hey. Hey you…you the…you his caretaker…?" he said between pants.

"I am." She replied.

"Great. Hey listen…your kid, he…he broke my…my window…"

"Not surprising. He always was bent on destruction." Adrian commented.

"You think you could…chip in so I can…pay for the damages…?" the manager asked.

The elephant patted the manager on the shoulder, and started to walk back to the car, finding herself exhausted now that the night's excitement was over. "I'll write you a check, first thing tomorrow morning."

He then put Benny in the backseat. "As for you, you'd better get straight to bed when we get back. We'll talk more about all of this in the morning."

Adrian got in on the other side, and crossed his arms as he sat next to Benny in silence. As Mrs. Tusk began to drive the car back to the orphanage, Benny pulled out Mrs. Tusk's music player, and set it down between him and Adrian. "Good thing this thing is waterproof." He said.

He pressed the on button, and the music began to play, breaking the silence of the car. Throughout the rest of the ride back, only Adrian said anything else.

"Just once, I'd like you to break something."

…

As the lot of you can see, the cat and the dog are very different in personality. One is hyper, happy, courageous, and all too eager to get himself hurt. The other is calm, inventive, intelligent, and overall sour to everyone. But whether or not anyone wanted to believe it, these two alter egos were the only hope for uncovering the mystery of the missing orphanage.

However, it wasn't until they'd meet a certain pair of police partners, would their worth be recognized…


	3. Chapter 2: Top Cops

"I still can't believe he sent you a fox tazer."

Nick Wilde didn't say this out of disbelief, but rather out of amusement. He sat in his normal spot in the passenger seat of the cop car he and Judy Hopps always drove, while Hopps herself drove down on their patrol. "Neither can I. Did you know that he tried to give me one before I left for Zootopia the first time?" she asked.

"I do recall you telling me, once upon a time."

The fox's aviators gave off a large reflective shine in lite of the outside sun. Savannah Central was bustling with wildlife going about their daily lives. Officer Wilde sat calmly in his seat, coffee in paw as he watched a mother bear carrying her two cubs across the street. Officer Hopps slowed down and stopped the car so they could get across. The mother bear waved in thanks and hurried her children along.

"I hope you won't find it to offending that he sent it to me; he's just really paranoid about predators. Always has been." Hopps continued.

Officer Wilde took a sip from his cup and gave off a smirk. "Carrots, please. At this point, I can take anything they throw at me. I'm practically immune."

Officer Hopps gave her partner a look of concern. While his statement was strong and true, there was a sadness to this truth. "You know you can talk to me if that ever changes. I'm here for you."

Officer Wilde sat up from his comfy position, and looked straight at his partner through his aviators. "Judy…"

"Nick…"

"STOP THE CAR!"

Out of reflex, the bunny slammed on her breaks. The timing was absolutely perfect. The car was literally right in front of a large elephant. She was wearing a sweater dress over tan pants, and had a small kitten in her arms, shielding him from getting hit. Officer Wilde lifted his shades from his eyes and saw the kitten looked very sour.

"First off all, I already know that. Second of all, keep your eyes on the road!" Nick got out of the car and motioned for Judy to park. As she did so, Nick helped the two across the street as more cars started to pass by.

"Sorry about that ma'am. My partner and I were just having a talk about feelings." The fox officer said.

"Oh, that's quite alright. Thank you."

Nick twitched his shades and started to walk across the street, when all the sudden, the elephant stopped him. "Wait, officer wait."

Nick turned around. "My name is Mrs. Lauren Tusk. I run Savannah Central's local orphanage. One of our more troublesome children broke out of confinement last night, and we've been looking for him all day."

The fox cop removed his aviators and gave off a look of concern. "What does he look like?"

The elephant placed the kitten she was holding back on the ground. He remained silent and looked away with folded arms. "He's a border collie. Orange eyes. Eight years old. Likes to wear bright shirts. His name is Benny." The elephant described.

Officer Wilde was about to say something, when out of the corner of his eye, he caught a black, white and neon green figure jogging along the other side of the street. Nick removed his aviators to discover it to be a small puppy, clad in a neon green t shirt and blue jeans. He was carrying come kind of pouch across his back. "Would your lost puppy happen to look like him?"

Nick pointed to the boy, and both Lauren and the kitten followed his gaze. The elephant gasped. "BENNY! BENNY!"

The elephant took off after him, stopping three cars in the road in the process. The puppy took notice of the large caretaker and immediately took off running. He quickly found sanctuary and ran into a supermarket, and Lauren followed him inside, knocking a llama aside and spilling his grocery bags on the street.

With a sigh, the kitten, who hadn't moved, slowly started to approach the building, hands in his pockets. Nick examined the young feline as he walked with him. Looked young, yet mature. Wore a pale grey t shirt with black pants. Had a survival wristband on his left wrist, and wore a blue cap on his head.

The fox took notice of his bunny partner still in the car, and motioned for her to get out. He then put his hand on the small cat's shoulder and made him stop walking once they got across the street. "Wait here, I'll tell my partner what's going on, and we'll all go in together."

…

It was hot, it was humid, and it was a total waist of a day. These were the thoughts on Adrian Rory's mind as the fox in the police uniform had him wait for his bunny partner. Adrian didn't know if the two were for real or playing dress up, and didn't care. Benny had gotten himself in trouble last night… _again_ , and was sent to solitary for the next two days as punishment. The orphanage didn't enjoy doing that to its children but what choice did it have? Some of these kids just wouldn't listen to their caretakers. Adrian didn't care about that though.

It was bad enough that that stupid puppy dog had to get Adrian dragged out in the middle of the rainy chilly night because of that, but he had to break out of confinement the morning immediately after that little incident too?

Adrian didn't actually care about that either, but he did care when _he_ had to be the one to pick up the mess. It was the caretakers' jobs to put all misbehaving children in their place. That was always how it was supposed to be. And yet for _some_ reason, the head of the orphanage always had to drag _him_ into pulling a _particularly_ _annoying_ _troublemaker_ out of the fire, and back into the frying pan. And he hated it.

He had just finished contemplating on this, when the two mammals in uniform tapped his shoulder, telling him it was time to go. Guess they were the real deal after all. He could hear them talking to him, but he paid them absolutely no mind. He was still too busy thinking about his annoyingly large role in taking care of the annoying puppy, _Benny Collins_.

The swinging from the tree stump was bad enough, but the fact that he just couldn't stay for his punishment was even worse. Wait, wasn't he thinking about that already? UGH!

Adrian looked up in frustration, and saw how far he had gotten. Not only had he made it to the supermarket, but he was halfway inside already. Mammals were loudly chattering all around him, going about their shopping as part of their regular routines. The kitten realized that he was actually walking alone. The two cops he entered with were nowhere to be seen. Oh well.

With another huff, Adrian put his ears to the ground in order to pinpoint the sound of Mrs. Tusk's desperate screaming. It was probably the loudest thing in the store.

…

"You see where he went, Nick?"

The two officers scanned the area to look for their missing kitten. "Nada Carrots. Absolutely nada. Oh, and that goes for our elephant, too."

In their defense, the prune-faced kitten had marched away from them in a rather big hurry. He must've really cared about that puppy, or that's what Hopps thought anyways. Her super-sensitive hearing was scanning the noises of the crowd for anything useful, while her partner took another sip of coffee from his paper cup.

Just then, she heard a very concerned yell coming from somewhere in the toy isles. "BENJAMIN MAXWELL COLLINS! YOU COME DOWN FROM THERE THIS INSTANT!"

Her hearing wasn't required for that one. Both her, Nick, and a good amount of other mammals heard the scream of desperation coming from the bicycle section. "Oh, there they are. Let's go."

Officer Wilde led the way, while Officer Hopps followed close behind. Just then, they spotted the kitten that hurried inside. Officer Hopps caught up to him, and held his paw to make sure he didn't fall behind, or go to fast. Lauren was easy to spot. She was standing on her tip-hooves, trying to grab at the little puppy, who was poking at her large fingers with a green four-wheeled scooter. The kind that could have its handle folded down while the wheel stays in place. "Back! Back, you large ruffian! Back I say!" Benny called as if he were a knight talking down a dragon.

Lauren was no closer to getting him down from where he sat, and the situation was starting to get ridiculous. Adrian pried his hand from Judy's and scanned the area. He looked around the other toys in the area, until he spotted a cage filled with rubber balls. One in particular struck his fancy; a red and yellow bouncy ball big enough to fit into his paw, or at least that's what it looked like from where he was standing.

Adrian quickly stormed over to the small item, and reached out to grab it. The sooner he was done with this, the sooner he could go back to his room and sleep. Just as his paw made contact with the ball, another paw just as large as his own grabbed it at the same time. Adrian looked up to see the bunny officer was right at his side.

"What are you doing?" Adrian asked. "I was gonna lure him down with this." She answered. "Wait, really? That's actually what I was gonna do." Adrian was honestly a little surprised. Mrs. Tusk had never demonstrated enough creativity to get the pet peeve of a puppy out of trouble other than to call upon his assistance. Deciding to let this bunny who seemed to share his logic take the lead, he pulled his paw back, and let the bunny go in his place. She took the ball from its cage, and hurried back to the bikes and scooters. A sharp whistle on the bunny's part got Benny's immediate attention. "Hey, little guy. Quick question:" the bunny began.

Then she showed him what she was holding. "Who wants the ball?"

The very sight of the brightly colored object made the puppy drop the scooter and started jumping up and down on the isle's shelf in excitement. "Oh! Oh Oh Oh! I want it! I want the ball! I want the ball! I want the ball!" he shouted, jitters filling his voice."

"You want this ball?"

"YES!"

"You sure you want this ball?"

"YES YES!"

"You sure you sure you want this ball?"

"I'M SURE I'M SURE! I WANT THE BALL! I WANNA PLAY WITH THE BALL!"

"Then FETCH!"

Judy underhandedly tossed the ball across the walkway of the hall towards the exit door. Seeing it leave his site, Benny picked the scooter back up, and proceeded to jump off of the isle, and into the newly made crowd of mammals watching the show. They all cleared a patch as the scooter landed first. Its wheels immediately started rolling when it hit the ground, allowing Benny to chase after his prize much faster. The ball was rolling down the isles and closer to the exit door, and Benny was getting close. "I got it! I got it! I got it!" the puppy exclaimed in excitement. However, just as he was getting close to it, a wolf in a pale green t shirt suddenly barged in the store, blocking the puppy from the ball.

"Whoa! Incoming!" he shouted. Out of reflex, he steered the scooter away from the wolf, and right into the female clothing department, disappearing from sight. The wolf looked at the area with confusion, before shaking his head, and redirecting his attention to the rest of the mammals, pulling out a gun in the process. "Nobody move! THIS IS A ROBBERY! NOBODY MOVE!" he shouted.

The other mammals in the store immediately started screaming when they heard 'robbery'. Nick dropped his coffee cup while Judy picked up Adrian and put him out of sight. Nick grabbed the large elephant and did the same while he got his radio and started to contact the station. Adrian and Judy watched as the wolf started threatening the mammals at the registers. He ignored all the other mammals completely.

The grey kitten took off his cap and started looking around the area. He took notice of Nick's coffee cup. It was still standing upright, and hardly any of it had spilled. He then looked to the bunny protecting him, and saw the taser that was holstered in her belt. That's when he got an idea. "Hey officer. Where do they keep the large gallons of water?" he asked. Judy was taken off guard at this question. The store was being robbed, and he wanted water? Cats hate water.

"Uh…over in the drink department. Why?" she asked as she pointed to the area. "You have a taser. Electricity like the kind from a taser can electrocute water. If we could get a large amount of water to his feet…"

"…we could electrocute him where he's standing and subdue him!" Judy was astonished with the little kitten's creativity. Thankfully, the large isles were good at hiding their presence from the wolf, who was almost halfway done with cleaning out the registers already. "Nick, make sure that the other hostages are safe, I'll be right back." Judy ran swiftly and silently to the drink isle, and Adrian followed close behind, grabbing Nick's half empty paper cup.

…

Benny was lying in a pile of female's clothes, the most obvious one being the lavender blouse. Close by, the scooter he was riding lay at its side. The puppy took off the blouse and looked around for the prize he yearned to sink his little teeth into. He slowly crawled out of the isle, and squinted around the store, looking for his prize and ignoring the rest. That's when he saw it: the beautiful red and yellow rubber ball that had stopped rolling and was now still as can be, in between the two exit doors that held the cart room, waiting to be claimed. Benny picked his new scooter back up, and lay on it with his stomach. The handle was in between his legs. Then he slowly used his arms and legs to paddle his way to his quarry, almost getting ran over by Adrian.

Wait, Adrian?

Benny looked up to see the cross kitten was holding something. A large gallon of water by the look of it. He stopped in his tracks however, and took notice of the puppy, still lying on the scooter. He then followed his gaze, and saw the ball where the rabbit officer had tossed it. Adrian put his finger to his lips to shush the little dog up, and he decided to humor him by pretending to button his lip. Adrian put the gallon down and quietly hurried to pick up the ball. He then hurried back, and motioned for Benny to follow. Benny, not changing his position, paddled close behind, eager to get the ball from his grumpy guardian angel's clutches.

…

Judy had sent Adrian to the other side of the store to do his part of the plan. Nick was tending to the other hostages and was nowhere to be seen by now. That meant it was up to her and her new companion to take care of the threat. She knew however, deep down that having a child help her with a crisis was wrong. But what else could she do? Her partner was busy, and backup wasn't available. She was at least relieved to know that the little guy was smart. She was sure of that. That meant that he _should_ be capable of looking after himself, if all else was to fail.

The wolf was now in between her and the kitten. That meant it was time to strike. The robber was just getting to the last register when she walked up to her with baited breath. "Stop right there, sir! Judy Hopps! ZPD! You are under arrest!"

"Huh?" the wolf looked down to see the bunny talking to him with her hands on her hips in a heroic pose. "Drop your weapon, and stand down! This is your only warning!"

"You-you serious lady? For-forget it! Stay back!" The wolf pointed his gun at the officer, making the other hostages gasp out in fear. That's when the paper cup hit him in the head. The hot coffee immediately got his attention, and made him turn around.

The cause of the coffee was nothing more than a little kitten, holding a large gallon of water and clad with a grumpy expression. "Hi. You're going to be in pain now." He said.

The kitten spilled the water when he finished talking. Or rather tossed the open gallon towards him, and making it spill. The water traveled a long way too, wetting his feet and almost reaching the bunny who ordered him under arrest. He looked at her in confusion, and then realized that she was holding a taser…and was now turning it on. Before he even had time to shout, she dropped the activated weapon into the water, electrocuting him where he stood.

…

Adrian watched as the wolf began to jitter where he was standing. All that was needed to be done now was to make sure he wouldn't die from electrocution. Fortunately, he knew just how to do that. "So Benny…you want the ball now?"

The little puppy beamed, and nodded his head with excitement. "Alright then. GO FETCH!" Like the bunny, Adrian underhandedly tossed the ball right into the watery trail, stopping in between the wolf's legs. In a flash, Benny was rolling after his prize, his tongue trailing behind him. As Adrian expected, the ball, and the wolf, were swept up from the electrical watery path, and Benny was now cradling the ball…in his mouth.

Gross.

…

Nick watched everything with the large elephant from Judy's intervention to the puppy saving the wolf from over-electrocution. He knew that the sudden crisis had passed, so he stepped out, leaving the elephant. "Okay! It's alright now, everyone! You can come out! It's over!" he started.

"Hey, Nick. Did it all go okay on your end?" Judy asked.

"Not to worry, Carrots. The civis are a little shaken, but after a little quiet time, they should be fine."

"Good. Let's get this guy cuffed, and tend to those kids."

The two officers helped the still conscious wolf to his feet as they cuffed him, but then realized that the puppy, kitten, and the items they had stolen were nowhere to be found. "What happened to those kids?" Nick asked.

"You mean the ones who helped you out? The puppy ran out of here with that scooter and ball a few seconds ago. The cat chased after him. He was really mad." The wolf explained.

The two officers looked at each other, and then to the elephant that had been chaperoning the two. "Knowing Adrian, he'll have found a way to get Benny back to the orphanage soon. I better go get the car, and…go make sure they're alright."

And with that, Mrs. Lauren Tusk hurried on out the store, desperate to find her most elusive children.

…

It was around this time that the officers had learned how creative, and how destructive, the two could potentially be. Of course, being children of an orphanage, they wouldn't have to worry too much about delivering consequences. That was something that Mrs. Tusk was more than capable of accomplishing.

I myself had first learned of this incident five hours after it happened via the news, and I had an immediate feeling that these two would be seen a lot more very soon. It wasn't until their next incident happened however, did I realize that I had underestimated just how potentially destructive they could become…


	4. Chapter 3: But they're just children!

Adrian was tired.

He was tired, he was cranky, and he was deadest determined. He knew that if he didn't see the stupid, annoying, troublemaking idiot of a puppy to his isolation room personally, he'd be in for a repeat of the day. It took a long time to catch up to him on that scooter. An even longer time to pry that stupid ball out of his mouth. He was fed up with him. He was gonna end this once and for all, and he was gonna sleep afterwards.

Mrs. Tusk was carrying Benny to his isolation room as he thought of these things. He followed close behind, eyes to the carpet floor and not making a sound. Benny was making clicking noises with his mouth, and he was looking as if he wasn't worried at all. Unbeknownst to him however, Adrian knew exactly why…

They reached the room. Mrs. Tusk placed the boy on the bed of the empty room, and looked at him with the sternest look she could muster. "The punishment this time is forty-eight hours. That's two full days in isolation for the shoplifting, and the violation of store property! Just keep in mind that this is for your own good!"

Benny stopped smiling, and put his folded his legs. "You know, I _did_ help stop a robbery." He said in a 'matter of fact' voice.

"Uh, actually Collins, _you_ didn't."

Adrian silently stomped over to the puppy, and all the sudden, he was holding him by the collar of his t shirt. Adrian suddenly tore it off, and flipped the puppy on his stomach to expose what was on his bare back: a piece of duct tape taped on.

 **RRRRRRRIIIIP!**

"YOW!" The puppy shrieked. A fair amount of fur was ripped off with the tape, and Adrian secured what he knew the boy had. " _I_ did!"

Mrs. Tusk watched the scene in disbelief. "I…I don't understand. Why would he have that on himself?" she asked.

"Let me see the key to the door." The grey kitten answered.

The elephant did as the ten-year-old instructed, and handed it to him. Adrian proceeded to close the door, and lock it. Then Adrian folded the tape until it was decently thickened, and put it in the space between the door and the door frame.

It took about a minute and a half until the door suddenly opened for the kitten. Mrs. Tusk was astonished. "Last month, I got in trouble for beating the bully Sean Sheepard. When I was put in Isolation, I used the same trick to get out of my room. Benny was being put in Isolation himself, so he saw what I was doing to get out. I _knew_ that he had to be using it to get out so many times, I just didn't know where he was putting the tape…until I saw it under his shirt at the store."

Adrian then brought Mrs. Tusk out the door, and looked at Benny in anger. "You're not getting away this time, Collins!"

And with that, he took the key and gladly slammed the door, ensuring that the puppy would not be getting out. He then starting walking down the halls, when a knock was heard. "Hey Adrian…"

The kitten let out a long sigh, and went back to the locked door. "What?" he asked in annoyance. "When I get out of here, I'm gonna shave off half your mane when you're sleeping."

Adrian wasn't impressed. He just turned around, and resumed walking through the halls with Mrs. Tusk. Now that Benny was behind him, he was starting to feel a large sense of relief overcome him…like finding and killing a mosquito that's been flying in your room when you're trying to sleep, but couldn't see it until finally getting lucky.

It felt so _good_ , Adrian started to have a smile creep up his face as he looked down at his hind paws. Mrs. Tusk took notice. "You seem happy." She said.

The two reached Adrian's room. "I am gonna sleep, and you're not gonna come in the middle of the night, and wake me up. I'm as happy as can be."

The kitten entered his room, and the elephant closed the door behind him. Now alone, he looked around the area to examine the one place he wasn't spending too much time in recently.

There were two beds, but thanks to a recent successful adoption, only one was being used. Adrian didn't care though, the other boy always kept crayons on the floor. To his left, was his wardrobe, which kept his clothing, and his pajamas. Speaking of which…

After buttoning up his sleep shirt, he saw to his right the desk he used from time to time for the sake of drawing pictures. Up above the desk was a window that had branches filling the view. In the windy nights, some of the branches would tap on the window. To his former roommate, the sound was scary in the night. But Adrian was not in the least superstitious. So to him, it was relaxing.

So relaxing, that he was letting out a long yawn that he didn't know he was saving up. He was tired, and he was gonna sleep. He got under the covers, and lay his furry head on the pillow with a smile. "Finally…I can relax…"

…

The tree branches were thick, but not even they could block out the morning sunlight. It shined through the leaves and into the window of Adrian's room, slowly waking him up. The kitten was hesitant to get out of bed, but as his mind started to awaken, he realized that there was something special about today: No Benny.

"No Benny…" He said aloud.

With a yawn, he slowly sat up, and rubbed his head. He remembered what Benny said about his mane, and smiled when he felt it fully intact. Adrian removed the covers and got out of bed. He did some morning stretches, and started taking off his sleep shirt. After he did, he took a small sniff of it. It smelled sweaty. "Hm. Think I need to get this washed."

He put the shirt aside, and opened his closet. A pale blue v neck t shirt, and a dark blue pair of jeans seemed good enough for the day. Even so, He also took his white zip-up hoodie as well. Best to be safe about it.

Adrian then gathered his sleep clothing, and looked at the small pile on the bottom of his closet. He took the whole thing with him and walked down the halls. The orphanage didn't have the most efficient management, but it was equipped with good quality features. So much so, it contained its own schooling, medical insurance, and of course, its own laundry machines.

At the end of the hall was the laundry chute that the children and staff used to send their unmentionables to be cleaned. The staff down below would take care of the rest. With that done, Adrian decided to go get breakfast. Classes wouldn't be starting until the afternoon, so he had plenty of time to enjoy the day.

…

Still sore.

Benny rubbed the spot where Adrian had harshly ripped the duct tape from his back. He had just woken up, and the feeling was his alarm clock. He remembered the promise he had made to the sour kitten, and he had full intention of keeping it. First thing was first however…

"How am I gonna get outa here?"

Suddenly, a knock came on the door. "Benny? You awake? You decent?"

Benny looked down to see that he was naked. He looked to his ruffled sheets to spot his pants and underwear. He quickly scrambled to them and put them on, doing his best to ignore the pain. "J-just one minute! Let me get my shirt on!"

He put it on, along with his pants. Although his shirt was backwards and inside out. He didn't notice though, and he knocked on the door to let the mammal outside know that it was safe to come in. "Benny? I've brought you lunch."

It was Keith. The nice Labrador retriever that supervised the staff. He was wearing a red shirt and blue jeans and had on a square shaped pair of glasses. In his hand, he was holding a paper plate. It had scrambled eggs, a potato, a cup of water, and plastic utensils. "Lunch? What about breakfast?" Benny asked.

"I came to bring you breakfast, but you didn't answer. I figured you were still asleep." Keith answered.

"Oh. Well, yeah. That's right."

Benny was about to take the food when he heard screaming coming from down the hall. "LET ME GO! I WASN'T THE ONE WHO DID IT! PUT ME DOWN!"

It was Sean Sheepard. The bully who Adrian got into a fight with that one time. He always did things to others and lied to keep out of trouble. Since he was on the staff's good side, they usually believed him. Someone must've caught him. "Shut it, Sean! The other children saw everything! You're in for twenty-four hours indefinitely!"

Benny had no idea what 'indefinitely' meant, but more importantly, he didn't care. He watched as the two mammals carrying him threw him into the room next to him. He took the plate and took a bite of the potato. "YOU CAN'T KEEP ME IN HERE FOR THAT LONG! I HAVE THINGS TO DO TONIGHT!"

He tried to run out of the room, but the staff just shoved him back in, and closed the locked door. "You are going to _miss it_!"

The two started walking out of sight, and Benny took another bite. "I'll be back in a half hour to get your garbage." Keith said.

Benny nodded to him and went back into his room, allowing Keith to close the door. Benny waited until he couldn't hear his pawsteps anymore, and went to the wall that separated him from Sean's room. "Hey Sean…"

He waited a few minutes, taking a bite of egg while he waited, before he heard a response. "Want something Benny?"

His voice was irritated, and disappointed. Whatever he was going to go to, it must've been important to him. This made Benny curious. "What exactly…were you going to tonight?"

Sean's hoof steps could be heard from the other side of the wall. "Why would I ever tell you?" he asked. "You would probably just leave me here if I told you, and then you'd go to it instead of me…and get your hands on it…and probably get into a lot of trouble since you…"

He paused. Benny had a feeling that he hadn't moved. "…on second thought, why don't you listen up, Benny boy? I'll even help you get out of your room."

Benny smiled. "I'm listening."

"Okay. You have any forks with your food?" he asked.

"Just a plastic one." The puppy replied.

"Okay, good! Now here's what you gotta do: Take the spike on the end, and pick it off. But only take one! If you take too many at once, Keith will be onto you…"

…

One hour ago, Adrian watched Lars, the chubby hippo that Benny stole from one time be kicked on the ground by Sean and his friends. They stopped soon enough however, and started to walk away laughing. "Fatty." Sean said under his breath. Adrian had his hood pulled over his head, and watched alone and in silence as Charlie the piglet came to Lars' aid. The poor hippo was crying, and more small mammals were coming to comfort him.

Adrian had expected the day to be a cakewalk now that Benny was in confinement. He was wrong. Sean must've been tormenting the others all along. Not that he was surprised though. He had been picking on the others ever since he and his older brother came into the orphanage. His brother had since been adopted, but Sean wasn't. Since then, he had just been getting to everyone, and telling the staff that others had been doing it instead of him.

Now that Adrian didn't have to worry about Benny, it seemed that he found another mischievous child to deal with. Adrian had seen enough however. Normally he couldn't care less, but Benny had soured him to the point where he couldn't stand another misbehaving child. Sean _had_ to be taught a lesson.

The kitten didn't say a word however, he didn't need to. He already knew what to do, and when to do it. He just needed supplies.

…

Four pencils, five strong rubber bands, the tube of a pen, some of Benny's tape, and a long piece of wood thin enough to fit in the pen tube. Everything needed to build a makeshift crossbow. Adrian had his secret weapon ready, now he just needed to get to the place to make it happen: class.

The classrooms were much like a college room. Some seats were higher than the others, and arced into a half of a circle. Adrian made sure to get himself into a higher seat. He'd have to be for this to work.

Sean was coming in. He was with his friends too, none of which he knew the names of. There was the bear cub who was obviously the biggest kid in the orphanage. Sean kept him around for muscle. There was the little raccoon, which Sean kept around to help steal things. And of course, there was the female fox kit, who was the real reason why Sean was so good at telling lies. He just repeated everything she said for him.

Adrian was aware of where they sat. Now he just needed to wait until they did. As the rest of the students got to their seats, Adrian took notice of the teacher coming to the board. She was probably the strictest mammal in the orphanage. Miss Darcie. A tigress who always wore a dark grey suit. Not a whisper came from the class that she didn't hear. And whether it was because she could recognize the voice, or her fearsome demeanor making the others point to the culprit, didn't make any difference. She was a mammal that Adrian respected more than any other. Why she wasn't running the place, Adrian would never know.

The teacher began to speak to the class, and write across the chalkboard. Adrian however, good a student as he was, did not pay any true attention to her words. His weapon was ready, the environment was ready, and Sean was ready…to take the blame. He pulled back the rubber bands and lined up the shot, and he took a quick glance around the room. No one was watching…except for Lars.

Adrian froze, and the two locked eyes. Adrian looked to his weapon, still in mid-aim. Lars looked to Sean, who was scratching behind his ear, obviously paying more attention to that than the class. Lars then looked to Miss Darcie, and then back to Adrian. The kitten knew what Lars was thinking, and he nodded to confirm. Lars looked back to Sean, and narrowed his eyes. Sean had beaten him today. He bullied him in front of everyone and made him cry again. He kicked him in the dirt, and called him 'fatty'. He needed to pay for that.

Adrian never really was one who cared for others; always spending his time alone. But now he suddenly wanted to step up for the rest of children and put the bullies like Sean in their place? Who was he to stop him?

With those thoughts in place, Lars looked back to Adrian and nodded his head. That was all the permission Adrian needed. He took a deep breath, and released the bands. The wooden piece flew through the pen's tube, and sailed across the room, and over everyone's head. Now all the kitten had to do, was stick out his tongue, and blow a small raspberry. Everyone took notice of the piece flying, except for Sean. And that choice to ignore the teacher would cost him; because when Miss Darcie turned around to announce that she had heard the raspberry, that piece hit and bounced right off Miss Darcie's glasses. Her glasses blocked that stick of wood from hitting her right in the eye. Now her attention was immediately drawn to the students.

"WHO DID THAT!?"

All the children looked away on instinct, and Sean, also out of instinct, gave the teacher his full attention. Miss Darcie looked at all the students one by one, and noticed that only Sean was giving her complete attention. Her eyes narrowed, and she walked towards the students. Everyone was deadly silent at her approach. She could bite off any of their heads if she really wanted to; and now she was angered…at them. She ascended the steps, and approached Sean. "Did you throw this at my head?"

Her hiss prohibited any lie that he could muster up. Not that he needed one. This time. "N-No, Miss Darcie. I don't even know where it came from."

"Liar!"

Miss Darcie looked up, and made direct eye contact with Lars. "Say again, Lars?"

The hippo gulped. "I-I saw him, Miss Darcie. He _did_ throw it at you! I…I-I _saw_ it."

Then the tigress looked to Charlie, and snapped the piece in her claw. "Charlie? Is he telling the truth?"

Her tone told the piglet that she was in no mood for games. "Uh…" the piglet started.

His first thought was to say, 'I don't know where that came from'. But then he remembered what Sean did to Lars, and it was in that instant moment he knew just what to say. "Y-yes! That's-that's exactly what happened! I saw it too!"

"SEAN! CONFINEMENT AFTER CLASS!"

"W-WHAT!?" But! But I didn't do anything!"

"NOT! ANOTHER! WORD!

Sean shut up.

…

Class time ended soon enough. Adrian watched in silence as the staff carried a kicking and screaming Sean to confinement. Keith was watching the scene from across the hall, and approached with a paper plate carrying some freshly made lunch. "I don't even understand why they have confinement in an orphanage. It's practically treating them like prisoners, not children!"

Adrian looked up to the retriever. "It's what they deserve. They broke the rules, and they have to pay for it."

Keith looked to the kitten. "But they're just children! And-and doing this to them doesn't teach them a _lesson_! It only makes it _worse_!"

"How would you know _that_? Most kids who get sent to confinement never do anything again. Most never even have to go into confinement to begin with."

"I _know_ because I _care_!"

Keith looked at the kitten with a serious look, and drew out a long breath. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go send _your_ poor prisoner his food."

Adrian looked on as Keith started off down the hall. His attention however, was cut short when Lars tapped him on the shoulder. He had Charlie at his side. The three stood in silence for a moment, Lars and Charlie giving each other glances due to Adrian's uncomfortable silence, but Lars found it within himself to muster the courage to speak.

"Thank you."

…

Dinner time had just ended. Roach loaf; a Thursday special. Benny was still too young to understand why bug meat was the only permitted meat for mammals, but in time, he'd understand just fine. He already had the two pieces of plastic fork he was gonna need, but Sean told him that he couldn't leave in the middle of the day. He had to wait until dinner was over.

Now that it was, both Benny and Sean waited until Keith's pawsteps could no longer be heard. "Okay, he's gone. Now what?" Benny asked.

"Now put _one_ of the fork pieces in the _top_ of the key hole, and put the _other_ one on the _bottom_."

Benny did as he was told, and looked to the wall that kept him and Sean apart. "Okay, got it."

"Good. Now turn _both_ pieces to the _right_ as if it were a _real_ key."

Again, Benny did as he was told, and the door immediately unlocked itself, with the cost of both pieces of plastic fork snapping. Oh well. At least he could get out.

The puppy stepped out the door, and slowly approached Sean's door. He put his ear to the hard wood, and gently knocked. "Sean…"

A small moment of silence. "Yeah…?" he asked from inside.

"…you're wearing your clothes in there, right?"

"Just let me out!"

Benny rolled his eyes as if he was proven innocent after a long day in court, and unlocked the door. Inside, Sean was holding something in his hoofs, something small and red. It looked like a ticket. "What's that?" Benny asked.

"A ticket for Reggie's. I got a big package waiting for me, and I'm already running late."

Benny watched in silence as the black sheep pocketed the ticket. Benny had heard of Reggie's once before. Sean had gone there to buy one of those animal muzzles, which he put on Tammy Babs the day before she got adopted.

"Now all I have to do is get past you…"

Sean cracked his hoofed knuckles. Benny watched with a raised brow as Sean started to advance; but all the puppy did was smile…and take his shirt off.

…

The first sense that came back was his hearing, for he heard buzzing in the air. The second sense that returned was feeling, for he felt a tickle on the top of his head, like something brushing across it. Then the feeling was turned from a tickle to an itch. Adrian scratched at the left side of his head, only to find out that the cause of the itching was a large amount of loose fur. It felt like half his mane was shaved off…

Then all the sudden, a memory sparked inside of his dreams. "When I get out of here, I'm gonna shave off half your mane when you're sleeping."

Adrian sprung awake, and felt at the loose fur and shook it off. His fears confirmed. Half of his mane was indeed shaved off his head. Not bothering to change out of his newly washed pajamas, Adrian ran from his room, and darted down the empty halls. It was the middle of the night, probably around 1:00 to 2:00, so no one else would be in the halls. Everyone was asleep, and there were no monitors keeping watch in the night. Courtesy of Mrs. Tusk's poor management.

Confinement was easy enough to get to, and isolated as it was, he didn't have to worry about waking anyone up. He barged right into Benny's room, and not at all to his surprise, he was gone.

Adrian fell to his knees, and held his head in frustration. His shaved mane gave him all the proof he needed that the puppy was gone. He didn't just barge in because he wanted more proof however. He barged in because he had a small sense of hope that he was still here.

Now that hope was gone. And in that hopelessness…in that anger…in that frustration…Adrian couldn't help but scream. "BENNY!"

His scream was loud. Loud enough to echo across the hallway. Adrian expected it to do that much, he just didn't care. What he didn't expect however, was a sudden thumping in the room right next to Benny's. Thumping, and muffled shouting. Someone else was in here. But who…?

"Sean?!"

The kitten rushed into Sean's room, and there he was. He was tied inside of his bedsheets like a giant sack with his pants used for rope to bind him inside of the sheet, and inside of his mouth was none other than Benny's neon green shirt, gagging him.

Adrian was in no mood for games, none whatsoever, so he stomped right over to the lamb, and ripped out the shirt so he could speak. Or more specifically, answer.

"What?! happened?!"

Sean spit out the loose bits of dog fur stuck in his mouth from the shirt, and looked up at the kitten. "I let him get away!" he shouted in utter defeat. "Here's what my plan was: I was gonna trick him to get me out of this room, then I'd beat him up, and go to the thing I was gonna go to. But Benny was too fast! He just tackled me, shoved his shirt in my mouth, tied me up and left me here!"

Adrian had never seen Sean so upset. In fact, it looked like he was _crying_. Fresh tears were streaming down his already matted wool. Not only was he crying now though, but it seemed that he had previously cried himself to sleep. He truly _was_ defeated, and he _knew_ it too. "And…and the worst part…?" he said between sniffles and sobs. "…he s-stole my ticket!"

Adrian didn't know what he was talking about. But he did want to know. Not missing a beat, he slapped Sean across the face, claws exposed. His sobbing was silenced immediately. "I am going to ask you one time, and one time only. And you'd better hope that you're telling the truth, because if I come back here again tonight…you will have a lot more scratch marks on you than just across the face…"

As he spoke, he stood above the bound sheep and grabbed the collar of his shirt. The way he made himself tower above him…the furious look in his eyes…the sting of his claws…

Sean had never been so terrified in all his life…

"WHERE IS HE!"

…

Reggie was reading a magazine in his shop. His feet were up on the front desk, and his smile was greatly amused. Reggie was a chimpanzee who always liked to wear flannel shirts, and he always wore his favorite blue and green cap. He suddenly heard his bell ringing, and little thumps on the floor boards of his underground shop. The kid had arrived, he was sure of it.

Sean was somewhat of a bad apple, but Reggie didn't care too much. A customer was a customer, and if they had the money, he was fine with it. Sean however, had one of his magic tickets. A coupon that could buy one of his most high-quality items. Now the boy had come to collect.

He put his feet down, and put his magazine away to properly greet the boy. "Ah, there you are! I was wondering when you'd show up, I was about to close…up…you're not Sean."

Matter of fact, he had no idea _who_ he was. He was certainly young, no doubt about that. In fact, he seemed younger than Sean. It was a small cub of some kind. Looked almost like a black wolf in the darkness of the night. "Uh, yeah…Sean couldn't make it. I had to come in his place, but don't worry. I've got the ticket."

Reggie watched as the small cub stepped into the light. He saw that it wasn't a cub, but a small puppy. He had black and white fur, and underneath his red cap, he had topaz orange eyes. He was wearing a grey sport jacket with a yellow zipper. Underneath that was a blue button-up shirt. His pants seemed black at first, but once he was at the desk, he realized that they were a dark shade of brown, not black. His jacket seemed to be supporting a small backpack. Reggie could see that it had the handle of a scooter inside it.

"My name's Benny. I heard that this ticket was worth something here?"

Reggie was presented with the little red slip. It was the ticket alright. Guess Sean really wasn't coming. Oh well. "Uh…yeah! Yeah, that's right. Worth one of my most valuable products. So, Sean ain't coming then?"

"Nope."

Reggie got on his arms and legs, and started off into the back room of the store. He motioned for Benny to follow.

Benny himself was excited. He had never been to something like this before. He had seen enough Crime TV shows to know what they were all about though. They always sold the coolest things. Things like car upgrades, pocket knives, fireworks…they even had guns sometimes! Not that he was hoping or anything.

"I'll be entirely honest, I wasn't too sure about Sean. He seemed like he'd be a delinquent for the rest of his life with the attitude he had." Reggie said.

"Yeah…that's what a lotta mammals think about him. That's actually why he's not here. They caught him doing something really bad. I don't know what it was, but they got him for it." Benny replied.

"Well, let's not worry about that now."

Reggie climbed up the shelf of the backroom, and Benny could hear him huffing. He must've been picking up something _heavy_. Benny was getting excited again. This was so _cool_! Sean had gotten something _big_ , _really big!_ And now he was gonna be the one to get it! What was it?! What was Sean so obsessed with getting?! Why was he starting to cry when he left him in his room with his shirt in his mouth?! The suspense was making him jump in place.

That's when he saw it. And it made his eyes sparkle. In Reggie's harry hands was the largest red firework rocket he had ever seen. Not just some firecracker for the backyard either. It was the kind of firework for _real_ celebration. And the size of it. Why it was…it was larger than him! Benny was so excited! The things he could do with one of those! He was jumping even more than ever now.

"Heh…like a kid on Christmas. Two paws little guy." Reggie said.

Benny held out his arms to hug his new prize. It was so big…and so heavy. It took all the little puppy's strength to keep it from crushing him. Not that he minded. "Now, be sure to light it up in a safe area. This thing blows up around somebody, it could _kill_ them. These things are the _big boy boom-booms_ , you understand?"

Benny nodded as he hugged his prize, but as he turned to leave, Reggie suddenly stopped him. "Now now, not so fast, little guy."

The monkey leaned down and pulled something out of his pocket. It was a package of matches. You'll be needing some of these to light this big boy up. Let me show you how."

Benny nodded and set down the rocket. Reggie picked out a match, and showed Benny the black line on the package. "To light the match, you have to strike it on this black spot, or it won't light. Now watch."

Reggie struck the match across the black spot, and Benny watched with fascination as the match swung to life. "Aww…it's like a little flicker of life…" the puppy said with big eyes.

"Heh…it sure is, kid."

Reggie blew out the match, and handed Benny the package. "Now you try."

The puppy picked off a match from the package, and lined it up with the black line. One flick across, and the flame burst to life. "Well, would 'ya look at that? You're a natural."

The chimpanzee quickly blew out the match however, he didn't want to get the rocket started by mistake. "Remember, make sure it's in a safe area."

"You got it! _Thanks_ , Mr. Reggie!"

The puppy pocketed the matches, and quickly started to drag the rocket up and out of the store. Reggie closed the door behind him, and sat back down in front of the desk, pulling his magazine back out. "Ah…they're sweet at that age." He said to himself.

…

The scooter that Benny had stolen from the store was going to be returned with the ball by the end of the week, after Mrs. Tusk had paid for the damages he caused over the last week. Benny had stolen back the scooter, and all his supplies from Mrs. Tusk's office. She really needed better security.

To make sure that the fire from the match would make it to the rocket, he set it on the sidewalk, which was just a little higher than the street. Benny had just lit his second match, and was now lighting the fuse. "This is gonna be so cool." He said. Then he sniffed the air, and his smile turned to a smirk. "Wouldn't _you_ say so, Adrian?"

Benny, being a dog, had an excellent sense of smell. Not a single mammal could sneak up on him without him knowing they were there. It was one of the reasons he was so good at avoiding danger.

"I'd say you've been out for too long, Benny!" the angry kitten replied.

Adrian was still in his pajamas, and Benny couldn't help but snicker at his handiwork with his mane. Adrian could tell that that's what was so funny right away. "You think this is _funny_?!" he demanded, pointing to his head.

"Are you kidding? You've never looked _better_!" Benny replied, grinning smugly.

Adrian stormed right over to the puppy, and shoved him aside. "I'll bet it won't be so funny when I throw your stupid rocket down the drain!"

Benny got up and gasped.

"You should've…" Adrian picked up the rocket, and tried to start carrying it. "…let your stupid revenge slide. I wouldn't have come to find you if…urgh…you _did_!"

Benny ran to the kitten, and tried to make him let go of the rocket. Now they were both on one of its sides. "Wait, Adrian! Put it down!"

" _Oh, no!_ You're not getting away with it this time! I've already lost a month's worth of sleep because of you!"

"No! You don't understand! I've already lit the-"

Too late. The rocket's fuse had made it to its destination. Now the large red rocket was ignited, and took off. Took off right out of the children's' grasp…and into the windshield of the incoming car.

"Fuse." Benny finished.

The two passengers of the car ran out of the vehicle as fast as they could. Judging by the silhouettes, Adrian figured them to be predators. Both of them. And big ones at that. Benny however, was looking at the actual car. "Uh…Adrian?"

Neither one looked at each other. "Yeah?"

The car exploded. And out of the now blazing metal, green and red sparks started flying everywhere. "I think that was a cop car." Benny finished. Just then one of the sparks caught Benny's hat, making it catch fire in seconds.

"GAH!" the puppy cried. He threw the now burning article of clothing off his head. "Whoa! _That_ was a _close_ one!" he said, wiping sweat from his brow.

Adrian wasn't looking at Benny's burning hat however; he was looking at the mammals. And in the light of the fire, he could make out the colors of the blue police uniforms of the tiger, and the wolf who were wearing them. Benny was right; that _was_ a cop car. Owned by two _large_ , and now very _angry_ police officers.

"Hey! HEY YOU TWO! STOP RIGHT THERE!"

The tiger had a female voice, instantly reminding Adrian of Miss Darcie, making him freeze up. The tigress showed them both her badge, and her and the wolf began to approach them.

The kitten couldn't believe this was happening. He had just helped an equally destructive child blow up a real live police car. This wasn't just some stupid shoplifting theft, this was a _real_ , _actual_ _crime_. A crime that _he_ was guilty of. He could hardly _stand_. He couldn't _move_. Until two small paws suddenly grabbed his arm. Adrian looked to see Benny yelling out to him. He couldn't hear what he was saying, but he had a good idea what he was trying to say. And he did what he figured he said.

Run. Run away. Run far away, and don't look back.

…

It was the night these two children had become aware of just how destructive they could become. More importantly, when the rest of the city learned just how destructive they could become. They were just two children, neither of which were in their teen years, and yet they had proven to be all it took to set a small series of events in motion that lead to the ultimate destruction of police property.

I'd soon find out that the next day would be spent on the run. Of course, they'd try to seek safety in the solitude of the orphanage, but it wouldn't matter. Because the next day would pave way for the headliner mystery that would be the talk of the town for months to come:

The mystery of the missing orphanage.


	5. Chapter 4: The mystery begins

"So the scam was done, right? And he's looking up at me and says: 'I hate you with every inch in my body'. So then I said: 'That's not a lot of inches'."

The bunny couldn't help but snicker just a little at the story. Nick wasn't wearing his sunglasses this morning since the sun wasn't out just yet. He was however, in the middle of his morning Joe. "You're terrible, Nick. You should really be nicer to him." She said.

"I am nice to him. I still buy pawpsicles from him every now and again."

"Heh. Yeah, for double the price, I'll bet."

"Double, Carrots? Try square."

The two chuckled to each other in regards to their smaller, yet older fox friend. Ever since Officer Wilde became Officer Wilde, the aging Fennec fox known only as Finnick went legitimate. Opened his own little shop, and supplied himself with a larger variety of flavors. How he was getting his supplies was a mystery only Nicolas himself knew.

"So you called back on your folks yet? What'd they have to say about the robbery?"

Judy sighed at the memory that was rapidly approaching. "Well, dad couldn't stop praising his own paranoia for sending me that stupid taser, and mom's been trying to calm him down from sending me the fox deterrent."

"That's the air horn, right?" the fox asked. "Geez, carrots. He gets past your mom, you'll be having the full set."

"I know. It's gotten so embarrassing."

Nick looked out his window, and took notice of two familiar faces running down the street. They seemed to be looking for something.

"Uh, Carrots? Isn't that Wolford and Delgato?" He asked.

"What?" Judy followed her partner's gaze, and saw that he was right. Officers Wolford and Delgato were running around the streets…without their car.

Judy slowed down to get a better look at the two. They were both a mess.

Wolford had pieces of glass stuck in his fur. His uniform looked like it had previously caught fire, and his tail was broken. Delgato looked quite similar. Her fur was matted like she had jumped into something wet, her eyes were all bloodshot, and most of the back of her shirt was burned off.

Nick activated the sirens to get their attention, and the two almost jumped out of their fuzzy skins at the sudden loud noise. "Hey, guys? Need a ride?" Nick asked. The two looked at each other, and immediately scrambled into the back seat. "Thank God, you two are here! We need you to contact the rest of the ZPD NOW!" Delgato demanded.

"Whoa, hang on! Back up! Start by telling us what happened to you two. You both look terrible! Did you catch fire?" Hopps asked

"We caught fire, we got our car blown up, and the culprits have been on the run ever since!" Wolford replied. "To make it worse, we can't find either of them!" Delgato added.

"Wait a minute, these guys blew up your car? How?!" Hopps asked.

"We couldn't tell for sure, but it looked like a firework rocket to us. We don't know who it was that used it, but it looked like a smaller pair of mammals." Delgato explained.

Wolford leaned in. "If you ask me, I'd say they looked like a fox kit and some kind of raccoon. They were definitely young though. Probably some kids arguing over who would launch the thing."

"Well, where are they now?" Wilde asked.

"Unknown." Delgato answered. "But a gut feeling's telling me that they won't be getting out of savannah central. Wherever they are, they'll probably be staying here."

…

The chase lasted until morning. A long chase that took place in alleyways, shady slums, and holes that only homeless mammals would bother trying to live.

Benny and Adrian were both tired, and hungry. Fortunately, they had finally lost those angry cops, and were safe. Unfortunately, they had no idea where they were anymore.

"Uh…Adrian? Where are we?" Benny asked.

Adrian looked around, and scratched the shaved part of his head. "Well, we're definitely still in savannah Central, but other than that…I'm not sure."

A tall car with a giraffe paintjob passed them by, allowing the two to start crossing the street. "Come on, let's try asking someone for directions."

"But won't they realize who we are?" Benny asked.

Adrian stopped them both in the middle of the road. "No, they won't! Because no one knows who we are, or what we've done! No one but those two cops! And they haven't seen our faces because it was too dark!"

Benny looked upwards as if thinking about the kitten's words, and he nodded.

"Makes sense." He said.

"Okay, good! So here's what we're gonna do!"

"Okay…"

"We're gonna go back to the orphanage…"

"Okay…"

"We're gonna tell Mrs. Tusk that we've been in Tundratown…"

"Okay…"

"We'll tell her that you were trying to sled there with someone's stolen laundry basket…"

"Okay…"

"And if she asks us about the blown up car…"

"Okay…"

"We tell her-"

 ***HONK* *HONK***

The two had their attention immediately drawn to the speeding car zooming towards them.

"WHAT CAR?!" Adrian finished in a scream. The two boys screamed in utter terror. Benny jumped out of the way immediately, but all Adrian could do was try and shield himself from the hit. Benny took notice of this, and without thinking, jumped back onto the street.

The timing was perfect. Benny tackled Adrian out of the way, saving them both just as the car suddenly zoomed past, and screeched to a halt. The two looked up, and looked at the car that almost killed them both. It was a black hot rod, with orange flames painted on both doors. The back wheels were bigger than the front ones, and on both sides, massive exhaust funnels almost covered the doors. The car's massive engine roared in the sun's increasing temperature, and its shine in the light was a sight to behold.

Just then, the door swung open, and an orange spotted hindpaw stepped out. "What is the mattah' with you? Ya'll want suicide that badly, ya could'a just jumped on into the rivah'! Not in front'a me!"

The voice was female, and thick with a New Owleans accent. The two looked up to see their would be killer as she stepped out of the car.

She was a cheetah. A very slick built cheetah. Her form curved in with every limb perfectly, showing off her natural running power, her fur was a golden orange color, and her snow-white mane was slicked back. Her white Henley shirt was worn under a light brown pilot's jacket. Her black skinny jeans were supported by a red belt. And her eyes, whatever they may have looked like, were covered by an alien visor with an orange lens.

The cheetah slowly approached the two boys, and they took notice of the scar running down her lip, as well as the one on her eyebrow. She stopped at about a foot, and put her paw on her hip. "What are you two even doin' out this early? Shouldn't ya'll still be in bed?"

The two looked at each other, and started stammering. Adrian however, was the first to speak. "Well, uh, you see, miss…my uh…my friend here, he…" The kitten finally regained his composure at the near-death experience, and cleared his throat.

"My friend here snuck out of our home while everyone was sleeping. I learned that he was out when he wasn't supposed to, so I went to chase after him." He explained.

"That why yer running 'round in ya jammies, boy?" she asked.

"Uh…" he looked down to his clothes, and suddenly felt rather embarrassed. "Yes. Yes that…that's exactly why."

The cheetah looked away for a moment, and then started to go back into her car. She closed the door, and then started to drive off, but then turned around. She stopped when she came back to the boys, and unrolled her window. "Get on in here. I'll take ya'll back to whereva' ya live."

The two boys looked at each other, then back to the cheetah, then to each other again, and scrambled inside. The car was certainly an oldie, and neither one had a vast knowledge, nor love of classical cars. But they both had to admit, this one was actually quite a beauty. Comfy, too. And the smell…a perfect mixture of ember and cinnamon.

Just then, Adrian's tummy started girdling. The cheetah's ear twitched when this happened, and she looked back at the two boys. They couldn't tell what she was thinking because of her visor blocking her eyes. She then looked back at the road, and started to reach for something in the front. The two kept silent, and glanced to each other, before the cheetah placed a small cooler in between them. She didn't speak.

Adrian put his paw on the top of it, and slowly opened it up. There wasn't much inside however; just a few bottles of water, a can of soda, and a chocolate bar. "Before ya two start diggin' in and all that, I'll have ta' know where ya live." She said. "That's Savanah Central orphanage ma'am." Adrian said.

Adrian picked up the chocolate while Benny took the soda. The rest of the ride back was nothing more than chewing, lapping, and slurping.

…

The cheetah stopped the car, and the two boys were let out. Neither one did anything with their garbage once it was done, so they left both things in the back seats and waved goodbye to the cheetah. "Thank you, ma'am. You were very nice." Adrian said. Benny just silently waved.

"Whatevah', boys." She replied, not bothering to look at them.

She started to drive away, when she suddenly stopped, and looked at them both, lifting her visor to give them eye contact. They couldn't make out her eye color since the morning sun was behind her, but Adrian could've sworn it was some kind of blue. "Word of advice boys?"

"Uh…okay." The kitten approved.

"Do _not_ go inside that building."

And with that, she took off. The powerful engine of her car roared quite loudly. The two children were certain that the whole city could hear it. "What was that all about?" Benny asked with a raised brow. "Beats me." Adrian answered. "Come on. If we're lucky, no one's noticed we're gone yet."

The two looked around the area as they tip toed to the front door, no one was in sight. Benny sniffed the air when Adrian placed his paw on the door, and the more he sniffed, the more worried he seemed to become. "Uh…Adrian?"

The kitten opened the door, and placed his fuzzy finger to his lips. "Shush. Keep quiet." He said quickly. "But…something's wrong." Benny said.

The two stepped inside, and entered the front hallway. The front desk where the mouse attendant, Mr. Squeaks, was still empty. Relieved as the kitten was that no one was there, he was also confused. "That's odd…Mr. Squeaks is usually an early bird." Adrian said.

"That's just part of the problem." Benny said. The puppy was behind Adrian, holding him by his tail. "What are you talking about? What's wrong?" the kitten asked.

"There's…no one here." Benny answered.

Adrian took back his tail, and proceeded further inside. "What do you mean, 'there's no one here'?"

The two silently went down the hallway, and found themselves in the dining hall. The place, like the front hallway, was empty. "I mean, the place is empty." Benny was still sniffing at the air, trying to find some other kind of scent other than the after scent stuck from the items belonging to the other children and staff, but aside from himself, the only other scent in the whole building that he could smell was the kitten by his side.

"And I mean, it's…empty, empty. No kids, no staff, no…nothing. There's nothing, it's just us."

Adrian walked into the kitchen, where a kettle had been turned on. It was the lunch ladies' tea kettle, and it was boiling quite loudly. Adrian turned it off, and put the practically empty kettle in the sink. That's when the puppy took notice of the time. "Uh…Adrian? What time does the staff come in?" he asked.

Adrian went to the fridge, and found a package of bananas. He took one out, and quickly started eating. He hadn't needed as much as five seconds to stuff the yellow fruit in his mouth. And as he chewed, he thought about their average time. "Uh…I think they come in at about…7:00?" he said with a mouthful.

"It's 7:35." Benny said

Adrian looked to the clock, and threw away the banana peel. "But…that makes no sense. The kitchen ladies should be done making breakfast by now."

Benny nodded his head. "Like I said: there's no one here." He said as he went to the fridge. He looked around and found himself a juice box. He ignored everything else, and quickly put the straw in place. "What do ya think?"

Adrian narrowed his eyes. Benny was hardly one for being right, but there was no denying it on this one: the puppy was onto something, and that made him upset. "I think we need to find out what's going on. Come on, let's check out the rest of the building. I don't like this one bit."

He grabbed Benny's hand, and hurried him along. "Check it out for what? I'm telling you, there's nobody here."

Adrian went into the kitchen's back room, and saw that the boxes, and most of its contents, were knocked all over the floor. Adrian knew the kitchen ladies. They always kept the back rooms spotless.

He hurried out the kitchen with Benny in tow. The two ran out of the dining area, and ran into the hallway. Adrian looked around, and found the way that lead to Mrs. Tusk's bedroom. The puppy and kitten ran to the room, and the kitten practically burst the door open. Empty. But still…something was wrong here, too.

Mrs. Tusk's usually well-made bed was completely turned over. Nail marks were dragging across the floor, and stopped once they reached the wardrobe. The two children looked to the door, and saw that half of one of the doors were torn off at the hinges. The two looked behind the door to the room, and discovered the wardrobe door was lined up against the wall.

The two looked to each other, and back to the doors. "If I were a guessing kitty, which I am, I'd say that she didn't leave the room by herself. Someone must've dragged her out." The kitten said.

" _Dragged_ her out? But Mrs. Tusk is an _elephant_. What's strong enough to lift something like that?" Benny asked with his straw in his mouth.

"Hmm…" Adrian scratched his chin, and looked back at the scene. He looked to the floor, and discovered a smaller, harder to notice, set of marks. Something that was almost his size. He kneeled down and felt the floor. There were marks like it all over the floor. "Adrian?" Benny asked.

The kitten looked up to the puppy, who held his free paw in his pocket, and the two stepped outside the room. Benny had a raised brow as Adrian led them further into the halls. Adrian eyed the floor for more signs of those smaller prints, and found them leading to the room of another instructor. Eyes open, ears to the ground, and nose sniffing, the two boys entered cautiously.

Like Mrs. Tusk, there were large signs of a struggle. The bed however, wasn't overturned. But the sheets were all over the room, as were all the other things that were supposed to be on the bed. The pillows, the sheets, the mattress cover, even the mattress itself. It was all over the place. "Okay…I'm starting to get creeped out." Benny said.

" _Now_ you're getting creeped out?" the kitten asked with disbelief. Benny shrugged, and started slurping at his juice box, meaning that it was getting empty. "Come on, let's go." The kitten said quickly.

Another room. This one belonged to Miss Darcie. There was no need to go into her room, nor was there any reason to look for marks. They could see marks leading out of the room, and further down the hall. They were deep marks too. Dragged themselves far into the floor. These were Darcie's marks, no doubt about it. "So…we gonna follow them?" Benny asked.

Adrian looked to the trail as it turned left to the hallway window, which held a turned over stool and a broken flower pot. "Yes."

Adrian took off down the hallway, and Benny, with a shrug, and a smile, threw his empty juice box over his shoulder and followed close behind. They ran past the broken pot, and followed the trail into the children's dorm. Not four doors in, and they discovered that some nails were starting to break off in the wood. The two stopped, and the kitten picked a nail out of the boards. "Well, miss Darcie definitely didn't want to go quietly. Let's keep moving!"

Adrian looked at the floor closely as he noticed several other claw marks coming from other rooms. Miss Darcie's claw marks were almost thinned out, but the marks coming from the other rooms stayed fresh until they reached their destination: the library.

Neither Benny nor Adrian cared much for the library, aside from books they'd need for occasional homework. But they were quite familiar with the area all the same. The library was quite possibly the biggest place in the orphanage. The orphanage itself was four stories high, but the library was three. The shelves that took up the space of the rooms had hundreds of books lined up in them. The genres, the sizes, the overall amount of knowledge that littered the shelves. The two boys stood in lite of it all and found it to be so…boring.

"Geez…I hate books." Benny said. Then he sniffed at the air again. "Wait a minute…I've got something."

Benny went further in, and took the lead towards the staircase that lead to the library's main lobby. "You found someone?" Adrian asked. "Not sure…but it's definitely something…"

Benny's nose continuously sniffed the air, and he began to go down the staircase. The puppy went down on all fours, as he usually did when he was sniffing out something he was looking for. His nose made contact with the ground, and his eyes widened with every step he took. He had never smelled anything like this before. Not only was it someone he never knew, but it was a mammal he didn't recognize. Normally, mammals would have some distinct after smell of something nature related; flowers, the lake, maybe even that stink that brought in flies. There was no such smells hanging on this scent, only cold dirt and colder worms.

Adrian walked closely behind the pet peeve of a puppy. His pace quickened with every step, until finally, he was more still then he ever was in his entire life. Adrian didn't have to ask why he was suddenly still enough to talk to. He _knew_ why. He _saw_ why.

Standing in front of the two children, covering most of the floor of the library, stood the largest, deepest hole the two had ever seen in their entire lives. The floorboards that once stood in the floor were completely torn away, presumably clawed out. The overall width of the circular gap in the ground was larger than both of them standing on top of each other. Far larger. The depth was, well…it was deep, okay? It was so deep, you couldn't see the bottom, just a large black emptiness that went for miles. It was _deep_.

The two boys looked at each other, and then back to the hole. Neither of them had any idea why a large hole was in their unimportant library. They didn't know how it got there, they didn't know who dug it, and they had no idea how deep down it went. However, they were both curious to find out. The only issue however, was that neither one of them had any desire to go down that deep, dark hole.

"So…uh…rock-paper-scissors for goes down first?" Benny suggested. Adrian looked at the puppy with a raised brow, and an 'are you crazy, or just stupid' look on his face. "Are you kidding? I was just gonna throw a book down there and hear it hit the ground."

Adrian then took off down the remaining bit of floor, and Benny shrugged before following. "Pff. Works for me."

The two made sure to watch their step around the remaining floor boards in the room. With every creak, the room suddenly felt a lot smaller with the presence of the massive hole. The shelves held a variety of books, and as the two shimmied across the area, Benny couldn't help but ask.

"You think a bigger book would make more noise?"

Adrian stopped, and looked to the puppy with a raised brow. The question was simple. And at the same time, it was highly logical. It was one of the only things Benny had ever said that sounded smart. And that was saying a lot considering the masses of stupid things he had done in the past. It was just enough to make the kitten smile. "So there _is_ a brain hiding somewhere in that thick fuzzy skull. You've been holding out on me."

Adrian found a thick text book with too many syllables for the eight-year-old puppy to read. And Benny couldn't help but smile back. "Hey…I'm not _that_ stupid."

"No…"

The kitten huffed when he used his finger to remove the book from the shelf. He let it fall over the edge, and watched as it fell past the narrow floor boards and down into the hole. "…but you've been getting _real_ close."

"Ha-ha." The pup fake laughed.

"I'm serious, Collins. You've pulled some pretty stupid crud over the years, but blowing up a police car? That's just…wow."

"Hey…that's not fair! I only blew it up because you had to come in and mess up my aim! That baby was going up!"

Adrian glanced to the puppy. "Look, I know that having a firework rocket was exciting and all that, but there are some things that an eight-year-old mutt is just not supposed to have in his life."

Benny frowned. "Says you!"

 ***BLAM***

Out of nowhere, the hole that they had just dropped a book down into, erupted a massive amount of dirt and dust, causing the entire library to shake. The entirety of shelves shook off most of their books, causing them to fall off onto the remains of the floor and fill up the hole that led into darkness. Out of reflex, Adrian dug his claws into the shelf, bolting himself to the hard wood. Benny did the same with his jaw, and used his paws to support himself further. The shaking became too much for the shelves nearby, and one of the smaller book shelves that normally held small children's books fell off of the wall, and tumbled down into the hole.

Then the shaking stopped. The two children looked to each other in utter shock, and realized how deep they had dug their fangs and claws into the wood. Benny was able to pull his teeth out with no issues, but Adrian's claws were dug in too deep. His attempts to pull them out only caused most of the sharp points to break off his fingers. It felt painful, but Adrian was tough. His fingers wouldn't bleed from this, and his nails would grow back, he knew this.

 ***BLAM***

Their freedom from the wood couldn't have been a better time. The room began to rumble again, and this time it was more violent, more forced.

"Quickly! Get to the exit!" Adrian yelled.

Benny, being closest, was practically shoved across the room, and back to the safety of a full floor, landing on his forepaws and knees. The kitten hauled the puppy by the shoulders, forcing him to his hindpaws in seconds. "Come on! Let's get outa here!" Adrian shouted.

The two were scrambling to the exit door, but the shaking of the building was so powerful, one of the room's support beams crumbled and broke off its spot, landing between the two boys and the door they just came in. "Oh, great! Now what do we do?" Benny demanded. Adrian looked around the room desperately. "A window! Is there a window we can break through?!" he suggested.

Benny looked across the room, and saw across the room and past the hole was a double window leading to the outside. "Over there!" Benny then looked up and noticed the ceiling lamps that stretched downward on their black poles. "Come on, follow my lead!"

The puppy dug into his backpack, and pulled out on of his many, many roles of unused duct tape, and started to unroll it. As he took off, he began to sling it over his head like a lasso, and swung it towards one of the lamps. As Benny had hoped, the tape wrapped around the lamp pole and stuck there, allowing Benny to swing across the room and over the hole with a jump. Benny reached the other side with no problem, and looked back to Adrian, who had a look of disbelief on his face. "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!" he demanded.

"Oh, come on dude! I did this already in the rainforest district this week!" Benny cited.

"AND IT HASN'T GOTTEN ANY LESS CRAZY!" The kitten screamed. "Oh, just catch the tape! You're gonna be fine!"

Benny threw the tape as hard as he could to try and get across the hole. However, the hole was too large, and without the extra weight to get it across, it ended up at the center of the hole. Adrian felt like strangling Benny right now, but what could he do? It was either that, or trying to move the support beam away from the door. Actually…

 ***BLAM***

Another tremor. Just as powerful. The whole room shook, causing both boys to lose their balance, and fall on their backs. Adrian got up first, and set his sights on the tape vine. It was the only way. "IF WE SURVIVE THIS, I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS, COLLINS!"

Adrian sprinted across the floor despite the constant shaking, and as the room began to darken all the sudden, Adrian lept across the room, his paws grabbing tightly onto the tape. But the extra weight was too much. For once that weight jerked onto the lamp, the entire lamp head supporting the wrapped tape snapped off. The kitten realized this, and realized what it meant. Now all he could do was scream as the puppy could only watch. "COLLINS!"

 ***BLAM***

Out of the hole, another massive eruption of dirt and dust rocketed the screaming kitten out of the hole, and up onto the second floor. The puppy stared at the area with astonishment, before trying to open the window. But when he opened it, all he could feel on his paws and face were a soft, cold, wet moisture. It didn't take long for Benny to figure out what it was. "Dirt!?"

…

Adrian had just jumped onto an obviously unsafe fake vine made of a role of tape, tried to swing across the massive hole in the floor, and when he was doomed to whatever was inside it, an eruption of dust and dirt launched him out of that hole, and onto the library's second floor. Now the kitten's heart was pounding in his chest, and his now dust and dirt covered figure shook with shellshock to try and get to his feet. "Dirt?!" he heard Benny cry. Benny. Benny Collins. This was his fault. It was always his fault. He didn't know how he did it, but he was positive that somehow, he was responsible for this crud happening to him.

"Adrian! The window is covered with dirt!"

The first thing the kitten thought was just a little bit of dirt on the sill or something like that. But Adrian had a feeling that that wasn't what Benny meant. "What do you mean, dirt?" the kitten cried back. "I mean there's no sky! It's just dirt! I think we're underground!"

Adrian had to make sure that's what the puppy said, because he couldn't believe it. "Underground?!"

He then looked out the nearby window, and looked down. The ground was close enough to land on. It was like he was on the first floor now. But the kitten knew the truth. "Oh, my god! WE'RE SINKING!"

With this realization, the filthy kitten tried to force the window open, but it was too late, the entire book shelf next to him fell down, nearly crushing the poor kitten and blocking the window. Thankfully, Adrian lept out of the way just in time, landing near the safety railings of the second floor and allowing him to catch a glance of the puppy down below. Benny was climbing on the bookshelves, and making it to the second floor. The idiot was trying to get himself killed. Adrian looked to his right to see a staircase making it to the third and final floor. One last floor. One last chance to get out of the sinking building.

"BENNY! THE THIRD FLOOR! GO TO THE THIRD FLOOR!" the kitten forced himself to his hindpaws and forced himself to stop shaking and dashed to the stairs. Once he made it, he started using all fours to climb.

 ***BLAM***

Yet another tremor. This one shook the staircase in half, nearly taking Adrian down with the falling half as it tumbled down into the hole, only to be launched back out with a large amount of other debris. No time to waste. The debris was launched with ruthless force, and some of it brutally struck at the remaining staircase, taking off more of it.

…

Benny's climbing was brought to an immediate halt when that last tremor struck. The whole shelf fell apart and started to tumble down into the hole. But as it tumbled down, another eruption struck, launching up a rhino's mouthful of debris up to the ceiling. Benny suddenly had an idea. A crazy, but totally cool idea. He steadied himself on the tumbling shelf, and jumped into the eruption. The puppy's incredibly huge amount of dumb luck held strong. He landed on an elephant sized novel, which rocketed up towards the ceiling.

Speaking of which, the ceiling was taking a seriously big bit of punishment from the other debris. Already there were massive holes in the ceiling. Some were big enough for Benny to climb through, or so the puppy thought. He'd never know though, because when he was just about to make it, the eruption stopped, and the massive book's weight carried the puppy back down. Benny wasn't gonna give up that easily though. He spotted another ceiling lamp, and lept to it. Like on a vine, he swung himself to the lamp, and then swung again to the floor of the third floor, landing on an overturned bookshelf and crashing through it.

To his left, Benny saw the filth-ridden kitten make it to the top of the stairs, panting, and holding his chest with a tight squeeze. The two children looked down to the remains of the library, and looked at the disaster zone that was made by the tremors. The entire library was turned inside out. Most of its contents had fallen down the deep dark hole, only to be spat back out and fall back down again. Walls were falling apart now, and loose drywall whitened the area, despite how dark it now looked. Already, both the first and second floor had made it underground.

The two boys looked at each other with worry, and then looked to the last window. Between them, was nothing more than a pile of loose books, an overturned beam than held a flower vase, and the lightweight school chair that mammals could use to read. Benny narrowed his eyes in determination, and forced himself out of the shelf. Adrian had no idea what he was up to, but he knew that objecting now would be pointless. They were both at the end of their rope.

The two boys were dashing to the closed window, and as they ran across the floor, Benny picked up that chair, and dragged with him as he ran. The run was not far, and it was when they reached the window when Benny used all his strength to heave the chair at the window. His efforts worked. The entire window shattered, allowing the boys to leap out the window, and out of the building. Their fall wasn't that far though. Benny hit the grassy ground first, landing on his torso. Adrian was next, and hit the ground on his feet.

The two had no time to relax though, for as soon as they were out…

 ***BLAM***

The tremor was louder on the outside that it was inside, and it rocked the remains of the orphanage. Not just the library, but the entire orphanage. It was all sinking into the earth. The two had no time to waste. They sprinted away from the sinking building, and ran towards the oak tree that was on the outskirts of the orphanage.

Once they made it to safety. The two could only watch as the orphanage was swallowed by the earth, leaving behind one last…

 ***BLAM***

That final tremor caused the even more massive hole to seal itself with massive amounts of rubble, as if something had swallowed the building and closed its mouth afterwards. There was nothing left. The orphanage was gone. Vanished. Poof.

The two boys were panting heavily. Adrian was still clutching his poor heart. Benny on the other hand, got to his feet, and quietly brushed off the sawdust and dust that lightly got on his clothes. In spite of everything that just happened, the puppy was surprisingly clean.

Then he looked at the still filthy kitten. Benny looked at his daily pursuer, and saw how much of a mess he was right now. Half of his mane was shaved off, his clothes and fur were covered in dirt and dust, his nails were all broken and dulled. And in spite of all that, he was still alive, no broken bones, no missing arms and legs, no chips on the ears, no nothing. Just some broken nails. Benny slapped the kitten's back to get his attention. " _See_? I _told_ you you'd be _fine_!"

The kitten just paused. Completely paused. Like someone pointed a remote at him and paused him. Then he stood up, back to Benny, in a pose like a cowboy about to reach for his guns, and slowly balled his fists as tightly as he could. He slowly turned around to face the puppy, revealing his disbelieving glare. "Fine?"

The kitten took a step forward. "Fine?!" another step, this time a stomp. "FINE!?"

The kitten's glare turned to a look of pure rage, and he tackled the puppy. If it weren't for his broken nails, he'd be using them to try and cut the poor puppy. But he still used his paws to start choking Benny. "I HAD MY HEAD SHAVED! I HELPED A MENTALLY UNSTABLE PSYCHOPATH BLOW UP A POLICE CAR! I ALMOST GOT RAN OVER BY AN OVERAGED CAR! I JUST HAD MY GREY FUZZY BUTT ROCKETED OUT OF A GIANT HOLE IN THE GROUND, AND YOU EXPECT ME TO THINK I'M FINE!?"

He was starting to slam the back of Benny's head into the grass, but Benny found enough strength to hold up a finger. "Uh…wait…wait a minute…time out…" the puppy wheezed with bulgy eyes.

The kitten took a deep breath, and spent a long time contemplating whether he was gonna let the puppy go, or keep strangling him. Eventually, he decided to release his grip. "What?"

"What's a mentally unstable psychopath?" the puppy asked because of his poor grammar. Years of not paying attention in class ruined him that much. "You, Benny. _You_. That is what _you_ are. A mentally unstable psychopath."

Adrian took the time to realize that he was on top of Benny due to the strangling, and got off of him, lying next to him. "I like daredevil better."

The kitten looked at the puppy. "What?"

"One time, when I stole a box of cheese roles, I ran into traffic to get away from the store owners. When the cops caught me afterwards, they called me a 'little daredevil'."

Adrian thought about this, but was unable to recall such an incident. "I don't remember that."

"That's because it was before you came. In fact, it was a few months before you came. I was still four. Mrs. Tusk still had to call the cops to get me."

"I wish she still did." Adrian said.

…

Officer Wilde was silent when he saw it, or rather, a lack of it. He remembered the area from past jogging routes he took when he was still a hustler. He remembered the building, but showed surprise when he saw nothing there. He had no knowledge of any construction in progress. "Uh…guys…?"

The other officers looked to the fox. "What happened to the building that used to be there?" he pointed out the open window to the spot where the now missing orphanage once stood. Judy stopped the car, and hopped out. Judy had driven around the area before, and she had seen children playing in the yard in the afternoon. The building had vanished.

It didn't take a genius to realize that something was wrong. She pulled out her intercom, and activated the radio. A few seconds of dialing later, and the cheerful voice of her obese fuzzy friend of the front desk answered. "Hello? Clawhauser here?"

"Clawhauser, we need backup at Savannah Central Orphanage…there's no orphanage."

A moment of silence… "What do you mean, Hopps?"

"I mean the building is gone. There's nothing here."

"Uh…that's confusing but…I'll uh, send you some backup, no problem. Hang tight!"

Officer Hopps turned off her radio, and approached the area with caution. Wilde, Wolford, and Delgato followed close behind. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary other than the lack of building. The yard that held the building, the signs, that large oak tree, that was all still in the area.

Then there was the spot where the building was supposed to be. All that was there was a bunch of loose rocks and dirt, almost like gravel, but not like gravel. Hopps kneeled down and placed her paw on the non-gravel, and rubbed it in her fingers; just dirt. She sniffed the dirt that remained in her paw in order to find anything unusual, but found nothing. Just loose dirt.

"So, what? Was it a magician that made the building disappear? What do we have on this?" Wilde asked. "We got nothing, Nick. It's just dirt and gravel." She got up and brushed off her pants. "Get the crime scene tape from the car. We need to get this place sealed off."

"She's right…" Delgato said. "This orphanage must've had dozens of mammals inside it. We'll also need to check the police records for who was in the building."

Wilde went to the car to get the crime scene tape, while Wolford got out his radio to make his own call to the station. Before he could however, other mammals started coming to the scene. "Officers? Officers?"

Wolford put his radio away and held out a paw to the pig couple that just arrived. "Sir. Ma'am. Back away." He said.

"But…wasn't there an orphanage here?" the male pig said. "Yeah, that's right. This is where Savannah central orphanage is supposed to be." The female said.

"We've just begun investigation, what's your importance with this building?"

"Well, we were scheduled to do an interview here today. We were planning on adopting today. Why is the orphanage gone? What's happened to its children?"

"Ma'am, sir, back away. We're taking care of this." Wolford said again.

"Incoming, civilians. First fox cop coming through." Wilde said. He was holding crime scene tape, and a few large nails. The three watched as he started planting the nails into the ground. Delgato came by to help Wilde, and the sound of a running car stopping came up. They turned around to see a rhino's hummer stop on the side of the road. The male rhino driving got out, and came up to the scene.

"Uh…wasn't there a big manor or something here before? When did it get torn down?"

"It wasn't torn down, sir." Officer Hopps came to Wolford's side. "Truth be told, we don't know what happened to the building, we've just begun investigation."

"Just begun?"

The officers looked to see a trio of beavers approaching, the group was getting bigger. "Well, do you have any leads? I've adopted from this place before, how did this happen?"

"How come the cops don't know where the building's gone off to? I thought these things were supposed to be approved or something."

"What about the children? That orphanage is supposed to have dozens of children, do you know where they've gone?"

The group began asking more and more questions, and Hopps and Wolford began having trouble keeping them back. Even worse, more mammals were coming to the scene. Everyone had a question, and neither cops had any answers. Not really.

Fortunately, backup had just arrived.

…

Benny and Adrian were fast asleep. All the running, jumping, and near-death experiences took their toll on the young minds. Now they slept peacefully under the safety of the oak tree. How long they had been sleeping, neither were aware.

It was the gentle hum of sirens that woke the two boys from their slumber. Adrian was the first to wake up, still covered in dirt. Benny however, rolled to his side to try and block out the sound. Adrian got to his feet, and looked at himself. He was absolutely filthy. Still.

He looked to the puppy, and nudged him with his foot. "Collins. Collins, wake up."

All Benny did was groan, and tried to wave the kitten away. "Let me sleep another hour. I'm tired."

The kitten frowned. Then he kicked the spot he had nudged the puppy, and made him role on his back. "Ow! Okay, okay! I'm up!"

"Good. Come on, I think we've got trouble."

Adrian motioned with his dulled paw for Benny to follow, and he did just that once he got up. The sun was still out, which meant that they hadn't slept for too long, but it looked like it was turning to late afternoon. There was a large amount of yelling coming from the front yard of the orphanage, which was still missing. Someone had wrapped yellow tape all around the area though. "Great…and here I thought I only had to worry about _you_ when it came to tape." The kitten commented.

"Hey Adrian, look over there!" the puppy said, ignoring the kitten's words. The puppy pointed to the massive crowd of mammals that had gathered to the scene. A huge group of predators and prey had gathered around and were trying to get past the blockade of cops. More and more cars were stopping at the scene, and more and more cops were trying to hold back the crowd. "Geez. Looks like word of the place sinking's gotten out." Benny said.

The two watched in near silence as several white vans suddenly appeared around the corner. ZNN news vans to be more exact. "Oh, cool! We're gonna be on TV!" Benny exclaimed in excitement. Adrian drew out a long sigh. "Great…"

…

Fabienne Growley was known for her many successful stories from years of interviews and deep digging. Being a news anchor allowed that, and much more. She was there for her generation's biggest stories, too. 'The collar prohibition', 'The kidnapping of Mayor Mortimer', "The nigh howler case', she was there for them all. Now she had been given the opportunity for yet another fascinating story; an orphanage that disappeared. "Vanished orphanage case? No, that won't do…Savannah Central orphan…no, too long. Hmm…"

Fabienne was writing possible names on her notepad for the headline this report would bring. She was positive it would make a front pager, she just needed a name. "Hmm…" A snap of her fingers. "I've got it…'The mystery of the missing orphanage'. Yes, that's perfect."

She had arrived at her destination. She didn't need to see any mammals to know just how many were out there. She knew. Now, as her usual job demanded, it was time to get out there and use her voice, looks, and superb speaking skills to sell the populace on this incredible scoop. "Ready to go, Randy?" she asked her cameramammal.

"Good to go, Fabienne. Let's do it."

Out they went. As the snow leopard could see, reporters had already gathered at the scene, were taking pictures, and assaulting the police with a serious series of questions. "Okay…we rolling?"

Randy adjusted the camera, and gave her a thumbs up. Fabienne cleared her throat. "Ahem. Fabienne Growley here, reporting on the scene of the ZPDs latest case, titled 'The mystery of the missing orphanage'. According to key sources, four police officers were spotted in the beginning of their investigation late this morning, investigating the empty area that once housed the Savannah Central orphanage, now missing without a trace."

"Those children! Those poor children!" a pig lady said in the background.

"I blame the orphanage manager! I've met her before; she should be arrested for how she ran things!" a male beaver said.

"How come we can't go in there? We should be helping with this?" A rhinoceros said.

Fabienne ignored the chatter and continued. "As you can see, the orphanage is indeed missing. The police have no leads on what happened, or when it happened. No evidence has been gathered, and no witnesses have been reported. Angry crowds have been demanding help, but so far, the police have refused any-"

"Hey! Who are those kids over there?! Are they from the orphanage?"

Fabienne's ears twitched. "What?"

"Yeah, he's right! Over there, look! There's some kids over there, on the scene!"

Fabienne looked to where the mammals were pointing, and realized that they were right. In the distance, coming from the oak tree on the orphanage grounds, were two young children, a puppy and a kitten. Zootopia's rarest mammals.

"I see them. Are you still rolling?" the snow leopard asked. Randy held his thumb up.

The crowd, and the police were now fully aware of the two children's presence, and were struggling to get to them first.

Fabienne struggled to regain her composure. "This just in, it looks like there _are_ some children still present! A total of _two_ children haven't disappeared. We're moving in to see what's what now!"

…

Adrian had to hold Benny by the shoulder to keep him from rushing to the news crew. "Calm down, Benny! They're coming to us!"

"I know that! But…but this is just so cool!"

Benny was lightly hopping with excitement. He was gonna be on TV! A whole bunch of mammals watched the news all the time, and now he was on it! They would see his face, they'd talk about him, maybe they'd start one of those blogs (or whatever those things were called) on him! It was so exciting for him!

Not for the kitten, though. For the kitten, it was really risky being seen in public, especially like this. Cops were all over the place, including the two whose car they had blown up.

The reporters made it first. "Excuse me! Excuse me, children! Children, are you from Savannah Central orphanage!?" A sheep reporter asked. "Yeah, that's right! Benny Collins! This is Adrian!" Benny proudly announced. "Can you tell us what happened? Where did the orphanage go! Where are the other children!"

Adrian covered Benny's mouth. He had a gut feeling that he'd be exaggerating way too much if he were allowed to answer. That meant it was up to him to answer instead. "Look, the first thing you have to know about that is…"

Before he could continue, he paused at the sight of a wolf officer, who gave him direct eye contact. The wolf looked familiar. He looked a lot like one of the…

"Hey, wait a minute. I know those two kids!" the wolf pointed at the duo in anger. "Those are the ones who blew up our car! Someone grab them!"

Adrian's eyes widened, his fears made true. "Benny. Benny RUN!"

The wolf officer tried to grab them, but both children dodged him and took off down the yard. The crowd was chasing them now. The reporters, the police, the others. They were all in hot pursuit of the duo. "Well, this is just _perfect_! Now the whole city knows what we've done! What are we supposed to do _now_!?"

Benny was taking his stolen scooter out of his backpack, and noticed a trio of children down the way. Most of them were on bicycles. "I guess that depends." He answered.

"Depends on what?"

Benny jumped on his scooter, and started going faster when he pumped his foot against the ground. "You any good with a bike?" he asked.

The puppy pointed to the trio, and Adrian immediately understood. He looked behind him to see some of the mammals had gotten into their cars. "I guess I'll have to be!" the kitten answered.

"HA! That's the spirit! Let's do it!"

Adrian was close enough to the trio to notice that the tallest was in his teen years. He was a goat with a black cotton jacket, blue V-neck shirt, and matching blue jeans. He wore red sunglasses, and had a toothpick in his mouth. The others with him were both dressed similar and had bikes of their own. "Well…here goes…"

Adrian was sprinting. His running caught the eye of the goat, but it was too late. Adrian had elbowed the boy off his bike, allowing the kitten to get on, and pedal away. "Don't take it personally! But it's an emergency!"

"HEY!" he heard calling from behind. He looked to see that he was being chased by the goat. The very, very angry goat. "COME BACK HERE WITH MY BIKE!"

The kitten looked to his left and saw that Benny was matching his speed now. He looked to his feline companion, and gave him a smile, and a thumbs up.

Behind them, the police cars now had their sirens running, while in front, the two were now going up a steep hill. Benny had to get off his scooter and carry it up, while Adrian had to use all the strength he could muster into his legs to keep peddling up. The afternoon sun was not helping him though. Point of fact, it was making his situation much, much worse.

The police cars were gaining on them now. The goat was far behind them now, but the cops had real vehicles, and now those vehicles had reached the hill. However, the two boys made it to the top, and the filthy kitty was shocked by what he saw. The steep hill was just as steep downhill as it was uphill. He could see just about all of Savannah Central from here, and it stretched really far. "Hey Adrian!" the kitten's attention was drawn to the puppy, who had hopped back on his scooter, which had its handle folded down. Benny was riding it like a skateboard.

"I'll race ya!"

The two were downhill. Adrian held on for dear life as the speed of the bike increased with every second. If that wasn't bad enough, incoming cars were approaching. And it was there that Adrian realized that they weren't on the sidewalk. They were in the _middle_ of the road.

"YAHOO!" the puppy exclaimed with excitement. He swerved himself to the left, narrowingly avoiding a zebra printed car. Adrian also swerved to the left, avoiding a smaller bunny car. Benny swerved to the right, almost running over a couple of gerbils, while Adrian steered the bike again to avoid a sheep's van, almost swerving out of control.

The two were now all the way off the hill, and were able to catch their breath. A red light was ahead, and no cars were going towards them. However, there were plenty of cars going left and right. Adrian looked to his canine companion, who only grinned and leaned downward to go faster. Adrian didn't want to lose sight of him, so he resumed pedaling to match his speed. "Oh crud…" he muttered.

The two zoomed into the red light, and for the kitten, time stopped. Or at least slowed to a minimum. Benny, who was several feet ahead, was still grinning, and jumped over the front trunk of a horse's convertible, landing back on the steering pole of his scooter. For Adrian, there were two cars, one on each side. The first was coming from the left. So he narrowly avoided it by turning to the right. He almost got hit by the other car however, and in that slowed split second, he was right in between them both. Time was an absolute crawl, because he knew that if he made one mistake, he'd be a fuzzy pancake on the street. Quick as he was in this absolute death situation however, the car that came from the right zoomed past while honking his horn, allowing Adrian to turn left, and find himself in the safety of the sidewalk.

Adrian took a deep breath, but couldn't hold his heart because he was holding both handles of the bike with his paws. To his left, Benny was smiling at him, and gave a two finger salute. Adrian frowned, and turned back onto the street when he had the chance. "If I don't die today, I'm _so_ gonna kill you for this!" he exclaimed. "Ah, ya already said that!" Benny said in dismissal.

The two looked ahead, and saw that they were rapidly approaching a T-section. Benny was on the left; Adrian was on the right. They looked to each other and back to the section, and back to each other. "See ya on the other side?" Benny suggested. "Hmph! Like I can stand being around _you_ anymore today!" Adrian confirmed.

Benny took the left, and Adrian took the right. Behind them, the majority of police cars split up to catch the boys.

…

Adrian had three cars on his tail. Just what he needed. NOT! All throughout the city block he was on, he was weaving around past cars, and walking pedestrians, trying to keep himself from dying a horrible bicycle accident. The road ahead made way for another traffic light. Another light. Another near death experience.

Deciding to try his luck, he swerved the bike to the left, and found himself entering a crowd of mammals. And behind them, one of the rodent sub-cities. Rodent-something. He couldn't read it from where he was. What he could see was that sub-city entrance. It looked small enough for him to fit into. That gave him an idea. It was a bit of a crazy idea, but he was getting over that much. He took his feet off the pedals, and positioned himself on the seat. He'd have one chance for this to work, so he had to make sure he was gonna get it right, or else he'd go to jail for almost killing two cops.

He looked behind him to see the wolf and a lion chasing him on foot now. He then looked to the entrance again, and narrowed his eyes. Once again, time slowed to a crawl. He jumped off the bike, and used his left arm to shove it aside so he wouldn't land on it. He positioned his body like he was about to be buried, and made sure he was still when he landed. He landed, and he slid right into the hole. Perfect fit. From behind him, the bike crashed into the stone part of the gate. Not that he'd be needing it anymore. The bike was too big to fit through, just like the cops were too big to fit through.

Not wasting any time, he took off down the miniature street. All around him, mice, gerbils, voles and rats squeaked in fear at the sight of the larger mammal running down the busy streets. "Just gotta get away from them. Get some new clothes. Hide somewhere they won't find me…" the scared kitten muttered to himself.

He dashed to another left when he reached another traffic light. He found himself right in front of a large cheese restaurant. He looked around, and stopped. He was out of breath, he was filthy, and he was lost.

He went behind the restaurant, and he huddled. How had it come to this? In one foul swoop, he went from angry orphan, to angry homeless most wanted orphan. He was one of two remaining children of the most poorly managed building in the city, which had now disappeared, he was held responsible for the destruction of police property, and to top it off, he was now known by name on all the news channels. They were probably issuing a warrant for his arrest, so they could put him in jail. Jail. They'd probably make him do hard labor all the time, make him break rocks with a pitchfork. Make him share a cell with a big guy who'd beat him every day. Feed him that gross brown stuff they'd always feed prisoners.

It was _so_ much, it almost made him cry. But Adrian was a tough child. And as soon as his tears tried to come out, he forced them back.

"Hello?"

Adrian looked up to see a surprisingly familiar face. It was that bunny cop from two days ago. The one he helped bring down that store robber. She must've gotten in the same way as he had. "You Adrian?" She asked. Her face was calm, and her tone was soft. Definitely better than that angry wolf. "Y-yeah. That's me." He was still holding back tears.

"Don't be afraid. I'm not gonna hurt you." She slowly approached and made sure he could see her hands. Aside from her belt, she was unarmed. Adrian didn't move. "I didn't mean to blow up the car. I swear. I was trying to get Benny to stop from launching the rocket."

The bunny stopped. "I believe you. But you don't have to be afraid. That's not why I'm here."

Adrian was only a little surprised. "You just wanna know about the orphanage then?"

She kneeled down to look at him eye level. "Yes. That's all we wanna know."

The bunny gently placed her paw on his shoulder, and the kitten looked down to his hindpaws. "Will I go to jail afterwards?"

"W-what? _No_! No, you won't go to jail! You're only _ten_!"

Adrian looked up in surprise. "Really?"

"Look, I know you're scared right now, but it's okay. We're the good guys, that's why we wear the badges. We just need to know what happened to your orphanage, and then we can talk about getting you a place to live."

Adrian looked into her amethyst eyes, and saw an honest look in them. "You can trust me, right?"

The kitten looked to her other paw, which was being presented for him to shake. He didn't want to go to jail, but this officer seemed like a good one. Maybe she was telling him the truth. Not like he had any better options though. It was either her, or the angry wolf outside the sub-city. "Okay…I trust you."

He shook her paw, and she helped him up. "You know…I don't think I know your name. The only thing I ever heard you be called is 'carrots'."

The cop chuckled at this. "My name's Judy. Judy Hopps. And I'm Zootopia's first rabbit officer."

…

Benny had four cars chasing him now. Wait, weren't there five? One of them must've given up. Cause Benny couldn't be caught! This was gonna be so cool! They were coming up on another downhill area, and the cops weren't slowing down. Benny leaned down again, and he was zooming down the streets at a really fast speed. The puppy spared a glance to see the cop cars still on his tail. Okay, sweet.

Up in front, a whole bunch of normal animal cars were going normal speed, and there were a lot of them. Not to worry, because the puppy knew just how to work around this. Two swerves to the left, and he got past the lemur cars. A swerve to the right, and he found himself under the hippo's hummer. It was so big, all the puppy had to do was duck so he wouldn't get hit.

It was working. The cops were having more and more trouble keeping up with him, now that he was riding through traffic. Benny did a Pinocchio's nose at them before looking back to where he was going, when all the sudden, he heard a screech to his right. With wide eyes, he lept off his scooter, and turned his head to see that he almost got hit by the front bumper of a truck. Out of reflex, he used his right paw to hoist himself up higher, so he wouldn't get hit. Now in the air, Benny took the opportunity to spread his arms and close his eyes as if he were sky diving. The wind on his face, blowing in his fur, pumping his heart; Benny felt so alive. And the fact that none of these other guys around him could ever catch him or hurt him made it feel so much better. Only Adrian had ever caught him; well, Adrian and that bunny cop. But neither of them were there. He was free. He was untouchable. He was Benny Collins.

He opened his eyes, and landed his feet on the metal of the scooter. Riding this three wheeler like a skate board was so much more fun than riding it like a scooter. Benny took another look behind him. The cops were slowing down behind him. He made it! He was home free! He was-

He was falling?

Time stopped when he realized it. One moment, he was on his scooter, home free. No more cops. He made it. Now, there was no scooter. He was sailing through the air, and seemed to flying on his face. The confusion was there, but no fear. Why be afraid? He had taken some hits before; he'd just brush it off. He always had.

His reflexes helped him take the impact when time started up again by making him shield his face with his arms. They did the trick. The next thing he knew, he was rolling. Then he stopped and found himself on his back. That landing wasn't so bad. Like he _knew_ it wouldn't be. But still, how did this happen? Why did he crash? What happened to his scooter?

"Isn't this the same scooter you stole, kid?"

The puppy looked to his right to find the source of that familiar voice. It was that fox cop from the supermarket. The one who was with that bunny. That was so weird. He had never seen a fox cop before. Were there others like him? Was he the only one? Did he make him crash? How did he do that?

He picked up the scooter, and took a good look at it. His shiny sunglasses looked really bright in the sun. "I was always more of an 'all fours' kid myself."

"How'd you do that?!" Benny asked.

"You're pretty good with your eyes and ears, but you weren't using your nose. Word of advice kid: don't just use what you think is important when you're doing…what you were doing…"

The fox cop came up to the puppy, and kneeled down to look at him face to face. "…but also use _everything_. You have a sniffer that can track mammals you can't see. Only makes sense to use it."

"I _know_ that! I used my nose to do that today _already_!" Benny protested.

"Then use it again when you'll probably need it. Even when you don't think you have to."

Benny pouted, and looked away with crossed arms. He _hated_ it when someone caught him, but he hated it even more when he had to listen to a _lecture_ ; even if it'd probably help him. "So! With that said and done, I'll need you to come with me. We need to go over what happened to your orphanage…"

Benny looked at the fox when his tone got more serious. He had taken off his sunglasses, allowing Benny to see the fox's deep green eyes. "…and why you and your friend are the only ones left."

…

Fabienne had been listening to her sources on her earpiece, and was ready to wrap up her report. "Three hours ago, two orphans were confirmed to remain within Zootopia following the disappearance of their orphanage. After several officers scared them into running off, a chase had taken place in Savannah Central. Now it's been confirmed that both children have been safely apprehended after the chase on Savannah Central's midway roads. Young puppy Benjamin Collins, and his accomplice, currently known only as Adrian, were also convicted of destruction of police property earlier last night. Whether this ties in with the orphanage's disappearance remains unknown for now."

Randy held as still as he could be, but brought his attention to an incoming police car. The kitten, Adrian, was inside it. "That was one of them! Did you get that?" the snow leopard asked. Randy gave her a thumbs up.

"As you could see, one of the children just passed us, and is currently en-route to the station. More news at 9:00."

"And…cut!" Randy concluded.

…

Chief Bogo had been listening very carefully to everything the kitten had told him. The shoplifting and robbery were things he already knew of, but the orphanage sinking into the earth? That was troubling. The first thing that came to mind was a sinkhole, or something like that. But then he remembered the talk about the smaller claw marks, the missing children and staff, the scent that the puppy detected. It didn't make sense. It was almost as if someone _knew_ that the orphanage would sink…

"So anyways…" the kitten continued. "…we came here in different cars after we were picked up. And we were brought to this room, and that's the whole story."

"Hmm…" The chief had a lot on his mind. It was a lot to go on, and there wasn't a lot of time left today. It was all spent chasing those kids. Small as the discussions on the chase were, it had taken several hours before the two children were caught, and to top that off, both children were now officially homeless. Fortunately, that last part was solvable, considering they were up for it.

"Both of you stay here. I'll be back in a minute."

The cape buffalo left the room after he said this, leaving both children alone in the room. Adrian however, got up from his chair, and checked the door. Unlocked. For him, that was good. Benny relaxed in his chair, and grinned at the kitten. "And here I thought you were just a plain ol' goody-goody."

Adrian looked back to the puppy with his standard annoyed look. "Look, if it were any other time, I'd be staying in here. But I've been chasing _you_ , been chased by _cops_ , and _worst_ of all, been _upchucked_ by a massive sinkhole that _swallowed_ the _orphanage_! I _need_ a _shower_!"

And with that, the puppy found himself alone in the interrogation room while Adrian left to clean himself from the ghastly mess of the day's events.

…

Finding this information, the real information, was no simple task. This knowledge came directly from Fabienne Growley, and having her deliver such confidential information took a massive cost of savings, and friends in high places. Luckily for me, I have both.

Benny Collins and Adrian Rory were now the key in discovering the truth, but important as they were, the little information they had was not enough. The police would need more answers for their investigation. They'd need clues, they'd need more witnesses, but more importantly, they'd need to find somewhere for the now homeless orphaned children to live…


	6. Chapter 5: What are families like?

"So you're both sure that you're okay with this? I mean, I know that it's extremely short notice and all. I wouldn't blame you if you refused."

Chief Bogo sat in his office, behind his desk as usual. Sharing a seat, partners Wilde and Hopps sat calmly, having contemplated the offer. "We know it's short notice, sir. But they got nowhere to go. Besides, we've gotten to know them already. A little bit of quality time, and they'll probably start listening to us." Wilde said with a shrug in his shoulders.

"Alright then, it's decided. You two are done for the night, I'll have to go over the paperwork personally. Why don't you go get them when you leave? They're in the interrogation room."

"Thank you, sir." Hopps replied. The two of them got off the chair and left the room, allowing Bogo to go over his paperwork in silence.

The two smaller cops walked side by side as they made their way to the interrogation room. "I have to admit, this was not how I imagined my day ending." Hopps said.

"Not mine, either. Say, what do you think your folks will say about it? Think they'll be shocked?" Wilde asked.

"Probably. What I'm more worried about is what I'm gonna do with mine when we get back to my place. It's already a small sleeping area; and it's gonna be hard to make room."

"You could always find a new place?" Wilde suggested. "I've been trying to; but right now, my place has the only affordable rent. I'm trying to save up until I get more money."

"Ah, I see. Well, you'll probably have to save up longer then, now that you've taken a ward." Wilde said.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Hopps said with low shoulders. "I'm just glad I'm taking the kitten. He doesn't seem like too much trouble. Worst case scenario, he'll shed all over the place."

"Heh, you _are_ lucky. I have to take the puppy. That kid's gonna be _such_ a pawful. At least having them shouldn't be too long, right?"

"Right. Just until we can get them into a real home. Until then, let's make sure they'll be comfortable."

Hopps opened the door to the interrogation room, but both cops were a little surprised to see that the puppy was the only one still in the room. In all honesty, if one of the children was to be missing, they'd have expected it to be Benny. And yet there he was, where he was supposed to be with his hindpaws on the table. "Oh, hey guys. What's up?" he said with a casual tone.

"Hey, how's it goin' Scoots?" Wilde said.

"Scoots?"

"Yeah, that's something that Nick likes to do; he gives everyone he knows a nickname." Hopps reassured.

"Oh, okay. Scoots…"

"Scoots. Say uh…where's your friend?" Wilde asked.

"Oh, Adrian? He went to take a shower." The puppy answered.

The two officers suddenly found their faces turning to a look of worry and discomfort. That kitten was only ten, and he went to take a shower in a police station, which was usually occupied by gruff, overgrown territorial tough mammals.

Not good.

Uh, I'll go and see if I can find him. Why don't you stay here with the kid? Be careful, by the way, he's really good at running off."

Wilde took off down the hall, leaving Hopps with Benny. The little puppy looked to the bunny before both heard the sound of a tummy girdling. "Say, officer…you know anywhere where I can get some food? I've had nothing to eat all day but a donut."

…

Wilde had memorized the station's rooms and locations quite well thanks to his (currently) single year in service. The locker room was easy to find. He just hoped that the little kitten was okay. When he reached it however, he was surprised to see just about all the male mammals waiting outside, looking as if they were trying to think about something else instead of something obvious. Nick had a feeling what it was, but he figured it'd be best to ask anyways.

"Hey, Grizzoli. What's going on?" Nick asked. Grizzoli, the polar bear officer who usually did his patrol in Tundratown, looked up from his phone to see Wilde approaching. "Oh, hey Wilde. I uh…wouldn't go in there if I were you." He said.

"Why, is there a problem?" the fox cop asked.

"No problem…except for the kitten that just went in to take a shower. We figured it'd be bad to do the same _with_ him, so we're waiting for him to finish."

As if on cue, the kitten, wearing a small white towel around his shoulders, came out of the locker room, dragging behind his dirty pajama shirt with him while he secured his still filthy pants. "All done, guys." He said over his shoulder.

The other officers quickly went inside once the kitten got out, allowing Wilde to examine him in private. He had heard that cat fur sagged whenever it had gotten wet, but right now, it wasn't sagging at all. It was actually very, very puffy. He looked like a giant ball of grey fuzz you could roll down a hill. It almost made the fox cop laugh.

He held back of course, but he failed to suppress a snicker. "Yeah, yeah, have a good laugh." The kitten murmured grumpily.

"Heh…sorry, you just look really…"

"Ridiculous? Funny? Fuzzy? Stupid? Ball of fuzz? Fuzz bomb? Scratching post? Cactus? Caterpillar?"

Nick's smile faded more and more with every word he said. Clearly he had touched a nerve. "Uh…sorry. I didn't know that it was a sensitive subject."

"Yeah, well…no one ever cares." The kitten replied. The kitten looked around the area for a private place to take a seat. He couldn't go back into the locker room, those bigger, older and meaner mammals were using it now. He should've at least taken a moment to collect his thoughts. Maybe the interrogation room would be alright…

The kitten looked back to the fox, and saw that he was doing something with his phone. He quickly put it away however, and then looked to Adrian.

"Come on, let's get to the car. Chief Bogo's letting us use it tonight, and I think it'll be a good idea for you to rest up a little _there_." He said.

Adrian thought about that for a moment, and then nodded to him. The fox was already moving, so Adrian tightened his pants, dropped his towel on the floor and ran to catch up with him. At least he'd be able to tolerate smaller company. He'd be very uncomfortable if he had to sit in silence while half naked _and_ surrounded by all those…freaks of nature.

…

Benny was keeping his feet up on the table when that nice bunny lady's phone pinged. They both looked at it, and she took out her phone and read something on it. Benny hated reading. "You ready to go?" she asked.

"Go where?" Benny asked back.

"To the car. Chief Bogo's letting us use the car tonight so we can get you and your friend to your new homes." She explained.

"Oh, okay. That's not gonna be forever though, right?" the puppy asked.

The bunny chuckled. "No, of course not. Just until you can get moved into a real home. The chief just thought it'd be better if you stayed with _us_ because of your…"

"…our knack for danger, adventure, and our overall love for running from the law? Our outstanding courage that cannot be stopped by even the most evil of souls?"

The puppy jumped onto the table.

"Our awesome ninja moves and unstoppable driving expertness that come to life at the first sign of danger? Our complete and total lack of respect for personal property, which is broken every time we place our paws on something like glass, or light wood? The fact that we outrun the law on a daily basis coupled by the fact that there is no number of cops, (other than you and your boyfriend,) that can stop us and our grand thirst for braving the harsh city streets with nothing but our wits and brawn?!"

The bunny cop looked at the puppy with a small sense of worry from the puppy's growing excitement. "Well…uh…most of that stuff, yeah. Except for that part about Nick being my boyfriend. We're not dating. _He's_ dating someone _else_ , but I'm not dating. We're just really good friends is all."

The puppy looked to her and calmed down. "Oh, okay then."

He jumped off the table, and looked to her with his hands on his hips, trying to make a heroic pose. "So what is it you call yourself again?" he asked.

Now she was smiling. _Finally_ , a simple question that she knew how to answer. "Judy. Officer Judy Hopps of the ZPD. I'll be serving as Adrian's new step mother until he's brought to a real home."

The two shook paws, and Judy continued. " _You_ will be living with my partner, Nick Wilde. He used to be a con-artist until I brought him along with me on my first case. Wasn't all fun, but we got through it, and we've been a team ever since."

"So that fox cop is my new fake dad?" he asked.

That was actually kind of funny; it made Judy laugh a little. "Yes…yes Nick is your new fake dad. Come on, let's go meet him."

Benny followed Judy out the door and Judy found herself suddenly having to jog to keep up with the eager puppy's running. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Not so fast, buddy." Judy caught up to the puppy, and quickly slowed him down. "Running off is what got you into trouble in the first place, remember?"

"Actually, it was Adrian who got us into trouble this time. He tried to take away the rocket, and that's how we ended up lining it up into the police car." Benny corrected.

"Yeah, but _you_ were the one who ran out again, _and_ the one who bought the rocket, _and_ the one who lit the fuse to the rocket. So when you think back to the beginning, it really is all your fault."

That came from Adrian. He and that fox cop were coming from the other side of the hallway, and now they were all walking out the parking lot door together. The puppy looked to Judy. "Is he actually right about that?" he asked. Judy nodded her head with a knowing smile. "Oh…okay then."

The group of four was now outside, and Judy had pulled out a set of car keys. She pressed a button, and their car's lights flashed. "The doors are unlocked now. Why don't you go on ahead?" the bunny suggested.

"Okay." He answered. Adrian was about to run to the car, when he suddenly paused and looked at the puppy. "Hey Benny, let me borrow your jacket." He said. He held out his paw so he could take it. "Uh…okay, sure."

Benny unzipped and removed his sport jacket, allowing the kitten to quickly swipe it as he ran for the car. The remaining three watched as the kitten went into the car, wearing Benny's sport jacket, zipped up all the way. His dirty shirt was curled into a ball. "You said we were taking the car?" the puppy asked. "That's right, so you can go in too." Nick said calmly.

"Wait just a moment!" A voice called from behind them.

The group of three looked behind them to see a snow leopard approaching. It was Fabienne. "Hey, you're that news lady." Benny said with a smile. "Fabienne Growley. News anchor for ZNN. You must be Benny Collins." She extended her hand, and Benny eagerly shook it. "What's the holdup?!" the kitten demanded, opening the car door.

"And _you_ must be Adrian." She beckoned the wary kitten over, and shook his paw as well. "What's this about?" Judy asked.

"Oh, I shouldn't be long. I was just hoping to ask some questions regarding your new case." It was there that Nick took notice of the anteater with a camera. "Randy, are we rolling?" the snow leopard asked. The anteater, Randy, gave a thumbs up. "Excellent."

The four gathered around each other as they looked at the camera. Then they looked to Fabienne as she started to speak. "Now then, the people of Zootopia all want to know: what exactly happened to Savannah Central Orphanage? Many mammals are horrified for the fates of the other children, and demand an explanation for the building's disappearance. What happened?"

The snow leopard brought her microphone to the group of four, waiting for someone to answer. Judy was closest to the microphone, and in due time, it floated towards her. This wasn't good. The claw marks mentioned by the boys meant some kind of kidnapping. But that wasn't something for the public to know about. The city would go into a panic. Nick was trying to think up an answer, but he hadn't hustled anyone in over a year. It wasn't coming as quickly as it should. Judy was still trying to find a way to avoid the answer herself. "Well, uh…we aren't really at liberty-"

"It was a sinkhole." Benny had suddenly snatched the microphone, and answered quickly. "That's what happened. It was a sinkhole. It had to be."

Adrian came to his side, nodding his head and taking the microphone into his own paws. "We had just gotten back to the orphanage. Not a lot of the others had really woken up yet, just the staff. And when we got there, Mrs. Tusk was waiting for us. She had no idea what had happened, and she figured that I was bringing Benny back without her."

Then Benny took back the mic. "Yup, so as usual, Mrs. Tusk was putting me back into confinement when-"

"Hang on, hang on. What do you mean by confinement? Do you mean, isolation?"

Benny scratched his head. "Uh, I don't know. What's that mean?"

Fabienne leaned down to face the puppy properly. "You know, like…alone. She put you somewhere alone?"

Benny smiled now that he knew what she was talking about. "Oh! Oh, yeah! Mrs. Tusk always ice-lated kids! Every time they did something naughty, she'd lock us up in empty rooms all by ourselves!"

Fabienne looked to the camera, and pointed at the boys while looking at her cameramammal. Randy nodded. "For how long?"

"Two days, usually. She'd send us food when it was time to eat, but not a whole lot though. It was always just a potato and eggs every meal!" he said with his arms raised wide.

Adrian swiped the microphone away from the puppy. He was making it way more dramatic than it had to be. "ANY-ways! We were going back there when the building started to shake up. We thought it was an earthquake, so we were being led outside. We were the only ones that made it out though. The whole orphanage just sunk into the ground as soon as we got out. The other kids fell down with it!"

Fabienne got to her feet, and looked back at the camera. "Well, there you have it folks. A _sinkhole_ swallowed the orphanage and spared only two of its children. Ironically enough, it seems to have been a mercy, as we've all come to see the true colors of their orphanage's manager, Mrs. Tusk. Not a manager at all, but a warden, treating their children like prisoners. With that thought in mind, it truly is no wonder why these two children would end up committing such a horrible crime as blowing up police property. Thankfully, their new step parents should do quite well in rehabilitating them into better citizens of society. We can only hope that this sinkhole problem will not happen again any time soon. Only time will tell. This is Fabienne Growley. Weather at 10:00."

"And…CUT!"

Randy turned off his camera, and smiled to the group. "Okay, nice job!"

"You sure we got all of that?"

"Oh, definitely. Yeah, I knew that there was something wrong with that place. I heard a lot of complaints about the kids that were getting adopted there."

The two started to walk away together, leaving the cops, and the kids alone.

"Must've been that manager all along…"

Eventually their voices faded when they went back to the sliding doors. The two officers looked to the children. Both looked a lot more confident in each other now. "Half-truth, kiddos?" Nick asked with a raised brow.

"Pff. Like it's our _first_ time lying to the system to get out of trouble?" Adrian said with a paw on his hip.

"You know, I'm really starting to like you two." Nick said. Judy couldn't help but smile herself.

"Okay, okay. That was actually pretty good. But just make sure that you don't lie to _us_ , okay?"

Adrian held up his paws in defense, but he did have a small smile on his face. One of the few he had all day. "Alright…that's fair. _I_ can do that much. The pup? No promises."

Benny's smile lit up the atmosphere immediately. "Well then…how about we get you some new clothes? You'll probably need to get some new ones since your old ones were lost when your home sank."

Adrian looked down to what he was wearing. Just his dirty sleep pants and Benny's jacket. He wasn't even wearing a shirt under it. "That actually sounds like a great idea." He said.

"Great. Why don't we get in the car then?"

Hopps got into her usual spot in the driver's seat, while Wilde got into his usual spot in the passenger side. In the back, Benny got in first by climbing into the right-paw side, and scooting to the left. Adrian got in shortly after.

"So, where are we supposed to go for clothing?" Adrian asked. "Well, I hope you can take the heat, 'cause Sahara Square is our best bet. It's got the best stores in the whole city. I know from experience." Wide replied.

"Okay then, Sahara square it is." Hopps confirmed. The car started, and Benny leaned back in his seat, looking at the fox cop, his new fake dad, as he called him. "So uh…your name is, Nick right?" he asked.

"That's me, scoots. Nick Wilde. First fox of the ZPD." He replied with a grin.

"Right, right…first fox…" Benny's voice trailed off to a murmur, and his eyes narrowed. Not in an angered way, but more of an observant way. The puppy put his paw to his chin and took a good look at the fox's features with interest. Adrian noticed this, and so did the fox.

"What's with you?" Adrian asked with a raised brow. Benny held a paw to signal silence. This was a first for the puppy. "You okay, kid?" Nick asked.

"The more I look at you, fake dad…the more I get the feeling I've seen you somewhere before…"

"You did. You saw me at the supermarket in Savannah Central, remember?" Wilde clarified.

"Yeah, yeah, I already know that, but that isn't where I remember you. I've seen you somewhere else, too."

Adrian rolled his eyes. "Probably ran from him when you broke one of his windows, or stole his wallet to buy candy."

The fox smiled in his seat. "Fuzz, I've had a really good knack for remembering faces. If I had met Scoots somewhere before the supermarket, I'd remember. I always do."

…

Sahara Square was always a hot spot, both figuratively and literally. The city's climate wall was what provided its unbelievably hot atmosphere, and in the daytime, only the mammals built for heat could go about the day without a fuss. In the day, it was hot, dry, and even then it was shown to have some of Zootopia's most fascinating architecture. But in the night…well, that was another story.

The night time in Sahara Square was an hour of beauty. The city was large, and that meant it was bound to have a lot of lights, and the lights that the desert sub-section gave off were unbelievable. All around them, the group was surrounded by a combined force of whites, blues, and golds, giving them a magnificent spotlight display. In the day, the buildings looked like what they were, clay and stone with interesting design patterns, but when the nighttime lights displayed themselves over the city, those buildings' glass textures were practically singing.

The overhead casinos, the high end shops, and of course, The Palm Hotel all just sung of glamour, and it was making the two children's eyes sparkle.

"Wow…" Benny began. "I don't think I've ever been here in the night before." His eyes were shining off reflections of gold.

"I don't think I have either." Adrian agreed. His eyes shined off textures of red. "I _did_ chase you around here once though."

Nick looked back to them as they continued ogling at the city's beautiful nightlife. "Really? Was that with Mrs. Tusk?" he asked.

"Yeah, it was." The kitten answered. "He had snuck out of the orphanage at four in the afternoon, and we ended up catching him running off with an elephant sized remote control car. It took five hours to catch him, and that was only because the batteries went out when I caught up to him."

"Yeah…that was so much fun." Benny said absentmindedly.

"It wasn't for me." Now the kitten was looking at him. "You got to drive away from us on that stupid battery powered race car. I had to _run_ to catch up with you."

"Sounds like you two have had quite the adventures over the years." Hopps gossiped. She then took a sharp right, and pulled into the driveway of a larger shop with blue lights coming from the windows. "Here we are, boys."

Hopps got out of the car, and Adrian followed her out, looking down at his pants with worry. "So, Benny. You're okay waiting in the car with Nick?"

The puppy put his feet up where Adrian was just sitting, and unbuttoned his shirt, exposing his medium grey undershirt. "Oh, sure. I don't care much for clothes anyways. Have fun!"

His tone was cheery, and his smile was tired. All that running had worn the puppy out, but his empty tummy was keeping him awake. It's sudden girdling reminded him. Wilde could hear it from the front seat, and looked back. Hopps and the kitten were already walking away, and that meant that he had to watch him now. "Hey, fake dad; were we gonna go somewhere to eat after this?" he asked with his eyes closed.

"That _was_ the plan. At least as far as I know." The fox answered.

"Awesome! I'm starving!" he then opened his topaz eyes, and looked to the fox he was now supposed to live with. "You know, I still think I've seen you somewhere before."

…

The doors to the store opened automatically when they entered. The store had that fresh clothing smell, and even in the night, customers were rushing along the isles, looking at mammalkin models in certain trends and taking their desired shirts, pants, and undergarments from their racks and display drawers.

"Okay, this is…kinda overwhelming." The kitten said. His hands were in his jacket pockets, and his half shaved mane was feeling the draft of the store's AC. Mammals were everywhere, and all the larger shapes and sizes were making him feel puny.

"So, what do you think? A shirt and pants okay for now?" Judy asked. "Uh…yeah. Yeah, that sounds fine." Adrian agreed.

"Great, follow me."

Judy herself had visited the store several times. Nick had recommended it to her for a (failed) date a few months ago. While the date ended poorly, she still visited the store from time to time to help her dress up. It was good quality, and good prices; that was enough for her, and it was what her new ward needed right now. Speaking of which…

"You should probably get several layers. Something short sleeved, and long sleeved. But remember, we'll only be able to get one outfit until tomorrow. Is that still okay?"

The kitten was looking all over the store, reading the isles and trying to find the children's department. That was a little hard to do, since most of the clothes here were for desert mammals like camels, and gazelles.

Thankfully, Judy knew where to go, and she grabbed his shoulder. "Come on, the feline's department is this way. She led him down while holding his paw, walking past a group of camels who were all carrying shopping bags. The feline's department was meant, obviously, for desert felines such as ocelots, cougars, and even bobcats. Thankfully, they were Adrian's size, which meant that he could get something that fit.

Judy watched as the kitten took a careful look at each of the racks. He was starting with the pants. The boy was thinking with his brain it would appear. His pants were the first thing he needed to change. His sleep clothes really were filthy.

He selected an average pair of blue jeans, and looked around for a changing room. He located the sign close behind him, and went inside. Judy leaned herself up against the wall, folded her arms, and whistled a tune. She didn't know how long he was gonna take, so the bunny decided to get comfy. She looked to her right to see her reflection in one of the support beam mirrors. She examined herself, and was reminded that she was still wearing her uniform. "Hey, how ya doin'?" she asked herself casually.

"Okay…how do they look?" the kitten's voice asked. Hopps turned around to see that Adrian had returned. He was wearing the jeans now, and had both his thumbs on some of the belt buckles. "Not bad. Not bad at all. Good fit."

She then saw his thumbs, and led him back to the room. "Why don't you change out of them so you can get some shirts? Then we'll find you a belt."

As soon as Adrian disappeared, her phone suddenly started to ring. It was her parents. "Oh, crud…" the bunny trailed off. This was gonna hurt.

She took a deep breath, and put on a smile. Not an overly cheerful smile like on her first day at work, but more of a calm, relaxed, 'glad to be done with the day' kind of work. Then she answered her phone. "Mom, dad. Nice of you to call." She began.

"Oh, don't you be starting with us, young lady! How could you not have told us you'd be adopting?!" Her father, Stu demanded. Oh, boy…

"Dad…"

"A-and on that topic; a _cat_?! You adopted a _cat_?! Don't you think you're getting a little risky there? I mean, with their long claws, and their stealth, I mean; they don't call it 'quiet as a cat' for nothing, Jude!"

"Dad…"

"And why did you have to keep us in the dark about all this?! I mean, was it supposed to be a surprise, or were you just scared, or-"

"DAD!"

Stu silenced himself. "You're doing it again."

"Doing what?"

"You're ranting! Like you were after the incident with that other fox. You rant to me, and then you send me something I almost never need, and then you ask to come here! I told you to stop."

"I…well…hey, that fox taser came in very handy. We both know that…"

"Where's mom?" Judy asked with a paw on her hip. She was so busy with the phone that she failed to notice the kitten was already out, and picking shirts.

"Okay, okay. Bonnie, you got this, right?"

Her mother appeared on the screen with a tired look in her eyes. "Just give me the phone Stu!" she demanded. "Judy! Hi! Glad to hear from you."

Now the younger bunny was smiling. "Hi, mom."

"So normally, I'm the voice of reason and all that, but this time, I gotta agree with your father on the subject. What gives, bun-bun? How come you didn't tell us you were adopting a child?"

Officer Hopps slicked back her ears awkwardly to come up with the right answer. "Well, until a very recent two hours, I wasn't aware that I'd _be_ adopting. It was totally short notice."

Stu appeared back on the screen next to Bonnie. "Short notice? Who told you that would make it better? Was it the police chief? Did he put you up to-?"

Mrs. Hopps shoved him back and steadied the phone. "Hang on; the news report said that the kid you adopted was from the orphanage that sunk today. Is _that_ why you adopted him?

"It's why I was given the _request_ to adopt him. Chief Bogo thought that putting those boys in some other kind of shelter would be too risky, since they're the only two witnesses of the report, plus their habit of running off. So he thought it'd be better if they were kept in capable paws so an eye could be kept on them."

Mrs. Hopps nodded to her words, and looked away for a moment in deep thought. "Well…alright then. That _does_ seem better to think about. Just…don't keep us in the dark about it again. We should know about it, too."

Judy put both paws on the phone, and looked at her mother with a serious, yet soft look. "Mom…I need you to understand this next part very carefully…"

"Yes?"

The younger bunny smiled. "You called me first."

"Oh-" The older bunny doe rolled her eyes with a smile on her face. She was right about that. She didn't really have time to explain that since they called her first.

"If there is anything that comes up though, I'll be calling you first." She finished.

"Good to hear. Love you, Judy." Her mother hung up.

The younger bunny doe turned her phone off, and tilted her head up with a sigh. "Tiresome, much?"

She opened her eyes to see the kitten standing at attention with his paws behind his back. He was wearing a plum purple long sleeved polo. Next to him was a bench that was holding Benny's jacket. "You have no idea, buddy." Judy said.

The kitten looked away, with a look of pain in his eyes. "Oh, yes I do. You'd be surprised by how much I do…"

Hopps could tell that she had hit a nerve somewhere. "Ooh, too soon?" she asked with concern.

"It's fine. Really, it's fine. Just thinking about them. I do that from time to time."

He was obviously talking about his parents. "What were they like?" she asked.

The kitten looked up to the ceiling lights, and pondered. His gaze was drifting into deep thought as he tried to find the words to describe his dearly departed. "For the most part, they were outgoing. They enjoyed taking drives together, had a knack for red cars…totally nerdy when it came to old history stuff, like pyramids and space travel."

The bunny doe chuckled, and kneeled down to help straighten his collar. "Oh, come on. A lot of mammals still like space travel."

The kitten looked back at her with a smirk. "Do _you_?"

"Okay, good point."

The kitten looked away from her and looked back up to the ceiling. The bunny followed his gaze. "The files said…they died while you were here?"

"As an exchange student. I had heard about it from a phone call. I was offered to go for their funeral, and…well…I said no. I was dropped off at the orphanage a day later, and the next thing I knew, I found myself helping Mrs. Tusk get some troublemaking puppy out from a tree by climbing up myself, and chasing him back down by trying to make him eat broccoli."

Judy smiled to herself. That actually made a lot of sense. Then a thought came to mind. "So why were you doing a student exchange program, anyways?"

The kitten looked to the bunny as if she had just punched him without warning. Then he looked away with a sad look in his eyes, and took off the polo, and the white t shirt that was under it. "These are all the clothes I want. Let's go."

He put the sport jacket back on, and walked towards the registers. Judy hadn't left her kneeling position, and smacked herself on the side of her head. "Idiot!" she cursed under her breath.

…

"…so then he tells me; 'I thought I made it clear that you weren't supposed to go in my room!' So then I told him; 'yeah, but which room did you mean? There are lots of rooms in your house. You didn't say which one, stupid!' and he got _so_ mad. He chased me out of his house, and into the driveway, I leapt out of the way when he dived at me, and he flew head first into the windshield of his car."

Nick was practically rolling in his seat from laughter at this point. That was when Benny broke into someone's home to get a ball back, and was supposed to wait in the kitchen for Mrs. Tusk to arrive. He was telling him other stories like this too; stories of how Benny had shoplifted countless stores only to be caught by authorities, only to escape time and time again while causing traumatizing property damage. Only Adrian had ever caught him though, at least until the fox and his partner came into his life.

"You two sound like you're having fun." Hopps' voice suddenly chimed in. Both she, and the kitten had returned, the kitten having put on a new set of clothes. "You guys good to go then?" Nickolas asked. The kitten nodded when they got in the car. Hopps put on her seatbelt, and started the car. "So, that pretty much covers that little errand…"

She looked to the back when she stopped, and eyed the two boys. "Who's hungry?"

…

The diner they had stopped at was also in Sahara square. The four were sitting outside, and Adrian was only wearing the t shirt. It was too warm in Sahara Square for a long sleeve. Benny was the only one who hadn't ordered anything yet. "…okay, so…I'll take a double cheese special, a large fries, and I think I'll have…a refill on my supersized vanilla shake. Absolutely _no_ chocolate."

The waitress looked to the fox with a raised brow. His ward had ordered the largest thing out of all of them. "Growing boy, ma'am." He said.

"Humph."

The waitress walked away, and left them outside. "Say, Carrots, you think it'll be alright if we bring them to Finnick's tomorrow morning? That way they could see if they like him enough for tomorrow night."

Judy put down her carrot cola, and snapped her fingers. "Right! Because of the event! Good idea."

"What event?" Adrian asked.

"Tomorrow night is a charity event at the palm hotel. There's gonna be a big party, and we have to do security for it." Judy answered.

"I thought cops were supposed to do patrol work, and guards did security?"

"They do. But the ZPD is being hired to provide extra security due to the panic about all the new burglaries going on around the city." Hopps explained. "So while we're going to that, that means we won't be able to look after the two of you. You're too young to join the event, and…no offense, but you two can't be trusted by yourselves."

The kitten looked to the puppy, who was slurping on what was left of his first milkshake. "No offense taken, ma'am." He said.

The waitress suddenly returned with their orders, and took a second too long to look at the puppy. Everyone could tell that she wasn't fond of him. "Hey, lady…"

The waitress looked at the kitten. "…if you wanna hurt him, I can hold him down for you." The fox, and the bunny looked at the kitten in disbelief. The waitress looked at Benny, who was just slurping at empty air before he grabbed his second vanilla milkshake. "Tempting, but…I need this job, hun."

She took her now emptied tray, and walked away, allowing the group to dig in. Benny put down his shake, and started stuffing his face full of fries. Judy took a spoonful of carrot soup, and Nick just pecked around his blueberry pie. Adrian took one of his centipede sticks, and took a bite. "So, Judy, who exactly is Finnick, anyways?"

Judy took another spoonful before answering. "One of Nick's old friends. He used to help him with his ice cream scams by dressing up as a baby. Usually worked too."

The bunny paused to take a sip of her cola. "He's so small, he just had to wear an elephant costume and keep his mouth shut."

"And meanwhile, I did all the talking, and the sales work." Nick finished. "We were quite the team back then, lemme tell ya."

He took a bite of his pie, and looked to Benny. "So, Adrian. Benny tells me that you've been chasing him ever since you met? What was the most difficult time you had to catch him?"

The kitten thought to himself for a moment. That was actually a really tough question. He had spent so many years trying to keep him from hurting himself that he never actually considered thinking about just what time chasing that irritating pet peeve of a puppy was the most difficult. There were many times and many chases to think over. There was the time he caught Benny trying to bungee jump with his tape in Sahara square. That other time when he tried to roll himself into a snowball downhill at Tundratown. And, oh yeah, how could he possibly forget that time when he jumped into a waterfall at the rainforest district? Just because he wanted that stupid candy. That one was recent.

Then, the answer hit him like a ton of bricks. "I got it."

He took another bite of his centipede, and leaned in. "Let me tell you guys about the time when Benny Collins over here tried to drive for the first time ever."

The two officers looked at each other. "You know how the age to drive is sixteen? Well, Benny thought the age was six…"

…two years ago…

"I was eight years old at the time. The orphanage was just in the middle of lunch time. We were having processed cheese sticks, one of the better dishes that were served.

Benny was sitting alone at the time. Not because no one liked him, but because in his head, Benny thought that only a few people should be allowed to sit with him. That's Benny's thing. He usually thinks that he's more special than the rest of the kids.

I on the other paw was sitting next to some of the bullies. They didn't really care about that, I just needed somewhere to sit. It was just a normal lunch, on a fairly normal day. Nothing was going on. When all of a sudden…

 ***AAAH* *AAAH* *AAAH* *AAAH***

 ***AAAH* *AAAH* *AAAH* *AAAH***

And just like that, we were doing a fire drill. We were used to the alarms at this point, Benny and I. They happened once every other month.

'Okay, everyone! Let's get to the shelter, A.S.A.P.!' It's no secret to anyone anymore that Mrs. Tusk didn't know how to handle children. A _real_ mammalger would have them go single-file. I had seen schools do that before. Another thing that real mammalgers do is lead the kids _outside_ of the building. The big dummy threw us into a cellar _inside_ the building, and figured it was safe because the door was metal.

The cellar was dark, cold, and really cramped. I was one of the last to go in, next to the hippo named Lars. We were both picked up at the same time, and thrown into the cellar on top of a bunch of other kids. 'You'd think that she'd be a little more careful.' Lars said to me. 'Yeah. Go figure.' I said.

She closed the door behind her, and then we waited. It took two minutes until the alarm stopped. That should've been it. No more problems. We'd just go back to lunch like nothing happened, right?

Wrong!

Since Lars and I were the last ones in, we were the first ones out. The other kids and staff came out behind us, and Keith, who was one of the smarter staff members, did a headcount. And that's when he found the problem: 'Where's Benny?'

That's when we heard it: * **BR-R-R-R-RUUM* *BRRUUM* *RUUUU***

That's me doing car sounds. That's what we heard; car sounds. Then one of our angrier teachers, Miss Darcie, checked her pockets because she thought it sounded like her car. Turns out it was. 'My car! THAT'S MY CAR!' she screamed.

Mrs. Tusk and Miss Darcie ran to the window, and right there, in plain daylight, Benny was on the road, driving Miss Darcie's car on the wrong side of the road. And since he was a puppy driving a tiger's car, he was too short to see the road and touch the pedals at the same time.

Keith was the first to think up an idea. 'I think we should call the cops. They can handle this!' he said. But Mrs. Tusk thought that he was kidding. 'We don't have any time for that! We can see him, and we have more cars! By the time the cops find him, who knows what he'd have done!'

The next thing I knew, I was getting my head up from Mrs. Tusk's arms, and I was being led down to the orphanage's parking lot, and shoved into the back seat. Mrs. Tusk got into the driver's seat, and then we were off.

Now, lemme just say here and now; anyone who thought that Mrs. Tusk was onto anything by trying to stop Benny herself is a moron. Keith was the one with the right idea. I may have only been eight, but I wasn't stupid; the cops had training for this kind of stuff!

But here we were, driving to catch a six year old and stop him from killing himself. Speaking of which, Benny was driving at full speed now. Even weirder; he was up on his paws looking at the windshield. He was also steering randomly, taking whichever turn he wanted because he thought it looked better. And if that wasn't bad enough; to put icing on the cake, Benny turned onto a bridge higher above the city onto the highway…and then, just as we get on the highway too, it started to rain.

So we were driving on a highway, Benny was driving Miss Darcie's car at full speed, and it was raining really hard. Benny was driving past a bunch of other cars, since we were on a highway, and it was the afternoon. But Mrs. Tusk didn't slow down; instead, she was trying to go faster too! So eventually, she catches up to him, and then we were neck-and-neck with each other. Car to car.

'Okay, Adrian, listen to me!' Mrs. Tusk says. Never a good thing for someone like her to say. 'I'm going to try and match his speed, and once we're close enough, you're going to jump onto his car, get into it, and stop the car!'

If I were older, and maybe stronger, I'd have said no. I don't know why I decided to go with it, and why I got to the passenger seat, but I did. Mrs. Tusk rolled down the window, and that gave me enough space to get a good jump. Since Mrs. Tusk's car was elephant sized, and Miss Darcie's car was tiger sized, that meant if I were to jump, I'd probably land on the roof of the car.

And I did.

When I landed on the car, I landed right on top of Miss Darcie's sun roof. Benny saw me when I landed, but he didn't like me, so he tried to shake me off by swerving all over the place, but since I have claws, I was able to hang on.

When he realized that it wasn't working, he tried pushing a bunch of buttons. I don't know why, but I think it was because he thought that one of them had some kind of ejector or something. So eventually, he opened the sun-roof, and I fell in.

So when I fell in, Benny panicked, and he tried to get me out. But I was two years older than him, and because of that, I was stronger than he was. So eventually, I used the duct tape that he brought with him to tape him to the back seat, and now I was in control of the car. I got to the wheel, and realized that the car was going because Benny put a large rock on the gas pedal. It took a little too long to get it off though, because by the time I had got it off, the car was going towards a sharp left on the highway.

Naturally, the first thought was to slam on the breaks. But when I did, the car didn't stop. The road was too wet, and the car was swerving to the left. I wasn't sure what to do.

'Hey, Adrian!' Benny said. 'I bet if you hit the gas when we get to the turn, we might make it without crashing!'

Of course I didn't do that, though. What I did do was grab Benny, opened the back door, and jumped out of it, taking Benny with me. I landed on the road, and rolled down on it, and in front of us, the car swerved off the highway, and down to the streets."

…Right Now…

"The cops found out where the car came from soon after, and the orphanage got a huge fine for the damage. If you ask me, Mrs. Tusk should've been fired for letting all that stuff happen, but since they couldn't prove that it was her fault, she was able to get away with it."

The two officers were expecting to hear a story about some small time theft of some kid's bike. Maybe rode it down a block or two before getting caught. But stealing a _car_? And driving it on the _highway_!? They were both dumbfounded.

"Why didn't you ever say anything about that?" Judy asked.

"I _did_! But that idiot chief didn't even _believe_ me! He figured that I was just trying to get a good laugh by tricking them!"

The adult mammals looked at each other. Bogo was admittedly ignorant at times, but this was a little over the top for him.

"Uh…what about that Keith guy you mentioned. He seemed more responsible, didn't he do anything?" Nick asked.

"He tried. He told Mrs. Tusk that the children who did this kinda stuff needed punishment. I for one thought that was a great idea! The kids do bad things, they get in trouble! Great!"

The kitten paused to take a swig of his milk. "Ugh…but, but Mrs. Tusk took that the wrong way, and made the confinement!"

Adrian reached to his plate to get another centipede stick, but found that nothing was there. He must've been eating them without realizing it. Benny had finished his own food already, and Hopps, and Wilde. They had all finished.

"Guess that news report wasn't lying after all." The kitten turned around to see that some of the other mammals were looking at them. In fact, all the mammals outside with them were looking at them. It seemed that Adrian's story had attracted quite the audience.

"You saw the report?" he asked.

"The boar who had spoke to him pointed at the TV above them. "The report is on right now." He answered.

Adrian looked up, and saw that he was right. Both he and Benny were on the screen, talking into the microphone. "ANY-ways! We were going back there when the building started to shake up. We thought it was an earthquake, so we were being led outside. We were the only ones that made it out though. The whole orphanage just sunk into the ground as soon as we got out. The other kids fell down with it!"

Benny was looking at the screen, too. "Oh, cool! We're on TV!" he exclaimed.

"And on that note, it's time to get going." Hopps concluded. "Nick, I'll drop you and Benny off at your place, and then I'll take Adrian to my place. I'll come and get you in the morning, and we'll all go to Finnick's together."

"Sounds good." Nick agreed.

Hopps put some money into the bill, and the group got out of the table. The night went fairly well. The two children had gotten adopted, treated to a nice dinner, and were now going to get some sleep with their new (temporary) parents.

What could go wrong?

…

Note to self: Never ask yourself that.


	7. Chapter 6: Finnick's

This following chapter took a little more patience than others, which is why I needed to make sure that a note was posted on the top, as well as the bottom. Certain mammals in this part of the documentary had certain…copyright restrictions, which meant that I required their approval to mention them. I thought it would be appropriate for all to know that the individuals I'm speaking of (who you will meet soon, I assure you) were contacted and approved as such.

Also, I must admit to being caught off guard. My first documented writing for the public eye, and I have over eight hundred views already. Even those that have begun to follow have been a surprise, and not a bad one. I hope that I can continue to gain favor in so many others.

So with that out of the way, let's resume.

…

The beeping of a rather annoying alarm was what woke the kitten from his sleep. He really didn't want to wake up though, not after yesterday. Oh geese…yesterday.

Where to even begin? Let's see…Adrian Rory had been…chased by officers all night before yesterday morning, nearly ran over by a car, retreated to a surprisingly empty orphanage, escaped certain death by jumping out the window of said sinking orphanage, not even an hour's worth of a nap, chased by the entire Zootopian police, arrested, forced to spill the beans about three days of mischief, adopted by the officer who arrested him, went out to eat, and took a trip down memory lane on where he was pretty much forced to jump out of a moving car, only to land on a smaller moving car…

…dear God, it was just making his head beg him to go back to sleep.

But he didn't. He was awake, and he knew that it was time to get up. The alarm said so. He got up from under the covers, and saw the clock read…4:30 A.M.?

Then he saw the bunny, still slumped over her desk, press the snooze button, and go back to sleep. Huh…guess it wasn't time to wake up.

…

The alarm rang again after a long pause of much welcomed silence. Officer Judy Hopps yawned herself awake as stretched in the chair. Then she pressed the off button, and got out of her desk.

She did some morning stretches to make sure that she wasn't cramped. Sleeping at her desk surely wouldn't be doing her any favors, she was certain of that.

But where else could she sleep? The floor? She had insisted to her 'guest' that he take the bed, since he was only ten years old…ten years old…and that idiot of a mammalger made him jump out of a car. "If I ever meet that elephant, I'll arrest her on the spot…" Hopps mumbled to herself.

"…what elephant?! Who are you talking about?!" a sudden voice demanded. It was Bucky Oryx-Antlerson, one of her two neighbors. "Who do you think, idiot!? That elephant mammalger who abused her new cat kid!" That one was his brother Pronk.

"Shut up! I knew that!"

"No you didn't! _You_ shut up!"

 _You_ shut up!"

" _You_ shut up!"

" _You_ shut up!"

" _You_ shut up!"

" _You_ shut up!"

" _You_ shut up!"

" _You_ shut up!"

" _You_ shut up!"

 **"HOW ABOUT YOU** ** _BOTH_** **SHUT UP!?"**

The kitten tossed, turned, and then out of nowhere, burst from the covers and shouted at the two crazy Oryx brothers in the loudest, most intimidating voice she had ever heard a ten year old produce in her _life_. Even more outstanding, the two obeyed and immediately silenced themselves.

"Geese, it's like listening to _toddlers_! I thought I was done with that when I left the _orphanage_!"

He angrily got out of bed, and went to the change of clothes he laid near the bed. Hopps looked away so the kitten could change in private. It gave her time to think about the boy. He was certainly a sour one. He seemed to have little regard for anyone else, but at the same time, he seemed to have respect for proper authority. He also seemed to be on the inventive side, and was good with improvising. She assumed he had his friend to thank for that.

On the other paw, he was also prone to giving others the cold shoulder. He wasn't that open, he didn't speak unless spoken to, and he obviously hated those with stupidity, and immaturity. It could be noted, fortunately, that he liked it better when he was on the right side of the law. He certainly wasn't joyous when he was arrested; unlike his young canine companion. Hopefully, that meant that he was gonna be easier to handle.

Officer Hopps felt a quick poke on her shoulder, and turned to see Adrian was fully dressed in his new clothes. "So, we going then?" he asked. "Why don't you go wait outside, and I'll be there in a minute?" she replied. The kitten nodded, and left the room.

Now alone, Hopps could change in her usual isolation. It wasn't like she wasn't used to it by now, but she had to admit, it was starting to get lonely. She had hoped that she'd have found someone by now, but most of her dates were either with jerks, or total weirdoes. She put on her shirt, and felt a pang of jealousy for Nick's position. Her partner wasn't even looking for a girlfriend, and he just so happened to stumble upon one during a case. Why couldn't she have that kind of luck?

With a sigh, Judy secured her belt, and looked in the mirror. It was her day off today, thank goodness. That meant that she could change into some more casual clothes. She was wearing a white shirt with black sleeves, her favorite blue jeans, and she had just finished putting on her green flannel. She didn't bother to button it up though. There was no need since she had a shirt underneath.

She opened the door, and left her room. Adrian was there, waiting for her, leaned up on the wall and looking down the hallway. "So where are we going, again?"he asked.

"First we're gonna pick up Nick and Benny, then we're gonna go to Finnick's. I told you that he used to be Nick's old partner in crime? Remember?"

"Oh…yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember now. The one who dressed up like a baby. I remember."

"Psst."

Hopps turned around, and saw Bucky peeking his head out the door to his room. Pronk was behind him. "Hey, uh…Hopps?" the oryx whispered. Hopps approached them, (allowing Adrian to walk away by himself) and looked at them both with a raised brow. "Yeah?"

"Is uhh…is he gonna be with you forever, now?"

Judy put her paw on her head in frustration. That was gonna be a really common question now, she was certain of it. "No, you guys. It's only until he gets put under real care. I'm just a stand-in until we find a better place for him."

The two brothers looked at each other, and slowly retreated back into their room, closing the door behind them. Judy then looked back down the hall, and saw that the kitten was already to the stairs. "Hey. Hey, Adrian! Wait for me!"

Judy took off immediately, and scanned the doors to see if any of them were opening. One of them did. It was the middle aged bear who usually slept in his undershirt. "Incoming!" she called out. Fortunately, he saw her, and backed up so she could go through. "Thank you sir!" she called back.

"Don't worry about it." The old bear said with a yawn.

Judy reached the stairs, and saw that Adrian was now walking slower. Probably so she could catch up to him. Judy quickly raced down the stairs, and soon enough, caught up to him. "Hey, thanks for slowing down." She said. "Yeah, don't worry about it." He said back. His mind seemed to be trailing off since he was looking away from her. She held his paw and they walked out the door together. In the apartment's parking lot, Hopps' issued car was waiting. "Hope you don't mind walking home tonight." She said, looking at the kitten. He looked back to her. "Nah, it's okay." He said. His tone was getting better, which meant that his mood was brightening. Thank goodness.

The two got in the car, Judy in her normal spot, and Adrian in the back, right behind her. "So, Judy…where does Nick live? In another apartment?" he asked.

He was obviously asking on behalf of his puppy. "Yeah, he lives on 1955 Cypress Grove Lane, it's close to one of the old bridges downtown." She answered.

"If it's close, I doubt that Benny would stop there. He'll probably be further out."

"Assuming that he left at all."

The kitten looked to the bunny with a deadpan look on his face. "Trust me, he'll be gone."

…

"What do you mean, 'he's gone'?" the bunny demanded.

"I mean, he broke out of his room, sometime last night, and ran away." The fox answered. Officer Wilde was wearing a blue shirt with a bunch of bright orange flower patterns on it, complete with a yellow tie. The shirt wasn't tucked in though, and his green slacks looked like they weren't folded properly. He looked absolutely sluggish.

Then there was his address. 1955 Cypress Grove Lane was an apartment complex laden with old rusty metal toys, and a lawn that hadn't been mowed in what could be assumed was a year. Because of that, tall dandelions littered the area, along with cattails and tall brown grass. There was also a big, dead tree to the right of the building, and it was blackening. The building itself was made of red bricks, and had a flat roof that had yellow paint peeling off of it. It looked to be about five floors high, and one of the front windows was broken.

"With a place like this, I'm not surprised." The kitten commented. "Come on, dude. You're supposed to be his _dad_ now. You've gotta _watch_ for him." He continued, extending his arms in annoyance.

"Look, Fuzz, I know you care about the kid, and I thought I _was_ watching for him. I sent him to bed, and I locked the door behind him. But when I woke up this morning, his window was broken, and he was nowhere to be found." The fox explained in defense.

"That's because Benny _does not_ understand _consequence_. He doesn't even know what that word _means_ because he can't speak words with three syllables and higher. All he understands is 'if it's something he wants to do, then he's gonna do it. Who cares about everything else'?"

"Why should I care? It's not like anybody got hurt."

The voice came from the dead tree behind them. Out from a large hole, the puppy poked out his head with an audible yawn. He actually looked cute like that. "Ah…you guys should try sleeping in here, it's totally hollow…whole lot more comfy than that couch."

"Maybe we should get some boards and trap you in there." The kitten said with crossed arms.

"Oh, come on guys, it's not like I killed someone. All I did was…" he yawned again, mouth wide open. "…break some glass. No big deal. Glass can be replaced."

He hoped out of the tree, and landed to join the others. Nick tapped Adrian, shoulder to shoulder. "And here I thought cats were the ones who liked climbing…" he murmured.

Then he cleared his throat, and kneeled down to face his temporary step-son. "*ahem*…the thing about that Scoots, is that _glass_ costs _money_. And when you break the _glass_ , others have to spend their _money_ to pay _others_ to go through the hassle of _making_ more _glass_. It takes a long time, and it doesn't always work out. So it's usually better if people don't break the glass to begin with. You understand?"

The puppy looked almost blankly at his fox step-father, before hearing the sound of his tummy girdling. "Not _my_ money. Not _my_ problem." He said with a shrug and a smile. "Come on, let's go to that Finnick guy! I'm starving!"

The three watched him run to the car, and nick got up from his kneeling position. "Huh, wow. He really doesn't understand consequence." He commented.

"Told you…let's go."

Adrian walked to the car next, allowing the two partners to speak in private. "What do you think of fuzz?" the fox asked.

"Well, he seems to be mindful of obeying the law, but he doesn't seem to have lots of respect for anyone he thinks is stupid." The bunny responded. "As for the puppy, he doesn't think he'll ever get into trouble, and he thinks he's too good to get hurt really badly. He's too reckless."

"Yeah…that's probably why Fuzz wanted him to get hurt so badly. It would teach him a lesson."

Nick placed a paw on his partner's shoulder, and brought her to the car. "Let's move partner, I'm driving."

…

The diner didn't really look like an ice cream parlor. Adrian was told that the smaller, yet older fox was running an ice cream shop. But this looked more like a breakfast diner. It was on an island of a parking lot, in between several closed buildings, and the open road. Only a van with an album cover on the side, along with an SUV was parked in the lot. "I thought you said he ran an ice cream parlor?" Adrian asked, confused.

"That is an ice cream parlor. But that doesn't mean that he only sells ice cream." Wilde clarified. "At first he only sold ice cream. Then he was able to hire new workers, and start selling more kinds of food."

"Oh…okay. I didn't know that people could do that."

"They certainly can. Just need the proper motivation." Hopps said calmly. Benny watched the two exit the car, and looked to his kitten companion. "Pfft…tell that one to the writer." Adrian, who had no idea what he was talking about, watched him leave the car, and then left the car himself.

Adrian took a good look at the building. It was only one story tall, and was made of bricks. Its roof was a bright red color, and the windows and door had the same color surrounding them. The kitten counted about five windows on each side of the building before it completely came down like a car ramp. He looked to the puppy in worry as he scurried to catch up with the others. If Benny would ever be tempted to take a ride anytime soon, he'd go off that roof as if it really were a ramp.

The four entered the shop, and the sound of drums being played randomly filled the air. The place was a bit rustic on the inside, and it gave off a smell of breakfast being prepared. No one else was really in the place, though. Just some of the employees. Speaking of which, the kitten decided to take a good look at them. The one playing on the drums was a raccoon. He had casual brown fur, green eyes darker than Nick's, and had a plain grey button up with lighter grey jeans. Near the drum set he was playing on was a green book with a bookmark in it. The drumset itself had the words, DrummerMax64 stamped on the front.

Then he looked to the other one, who was sitting behind the desk, doing something with her phone. She was a badger with a black tank top on, but he couldn't make out the rest of her clothes. Her neon green eyes were calm and relaxed when the doorbell rang.

Then he noticed the shortest one, whom he was positive was Finnick, counting money in the register. He was dressed in a black button up with a red stripe going down the left side of it, he wore green shorts that the kitten thought that he could wear himself, and his bronze eyes sparked of annoyance. His breath, even from the five foot distance between them, reeked of an ashtray.

"Benny, Adrian. Meet Finnick, Max, and Honey." The fox said.

…

Hopps was close to her partner when the three finally took notice of them. She was well-acquainted with the three of them at this point. Finnick was someone she had known since first arriving in Zootopia, but the other two were mammals she had not met until five months after her first case. Max Thrash was well known for his drumming and piano skills. He was also studying something in college, but she didn't know what it was. Then there was Honey Badger. Hopps didn't know a whole deal about her, but she did know that she and Max were dating. They were also very happy together, she had seen it. She couldn't help but feel jealous though; they definitely had better luck than she did.

"Nick…I heard that you had adopted." Max started, not looking up from his drums. "What happened? Fin being your baby start to sound too weird for ya?"

"Aw, come on. You know it was just daily routine." Nick countered.

"That included your angry best friend wearing a diaper every day. You know, he'd tell me all about it sometimes when I first started. Told me you used to tickle him in front of all the other kids." Said the raccoon. Benny snickered when he looked at Finnick. "Also told me that he wanted to wind you for that every time."

"Come on, you guys. If it doesn't look convincing, nobody would bite." Nick pleaded. "Besides, it's not like I caused discomfort.

"Discomfort?" Finnick said in protest. "You were consciously tickling a grown mammal, older than you by the way, in a public area. You caused us plenty of discomfort."

"And Finnick was more than willing to discuss it with his employees." Max concluded with a 'budum-tish'. He then looked up from his drum set. "Hey, by the way, you really should check out the paper."

He pointed towards Honey, who looked at them when he said this. "Oh, yeah. Over here, baby." She said. Curious, Benny walked over first to take a look, and she gave him the paper. "Page number three."

The puppy looked at the third page, and his ears rose upward. "Benny?" Hopps asked. "We're in the newspaper!" he said with excitement. Judy took a look at the page, and the headliner read: "Rocket Boys Adopted by Police." She read aloud. "Rocket Boys?" She repeated, confused. Then she saw the author. "Written by Henrietta Dobie." She looked to her ward, who only shrugged. "After a sudden sinkhole swallowed savannah central orphanage and resulted in the disappearance of several children and staff, only two of its most mischievous delinquents remain unharmed. Both of said delinquents, now known as 'The Rocket Boys', have since proven untrustworthy and have now been adopted into the custody of the heroes behind the night howler case themselves, Officers Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, who have seemingly promised to keep both children from causing harm. It can be noted however, that both children remain extremely dangerous, evident from their disastrous attack of a Zootopian police car via a firework rocket, hence their title…"

"They've got the whole story out already." Honey explained.

Adrian snatched the newspaper from her. He was silent as he glossed over the important parts. "Even worse, they've told everyone we're criminals."

Benny looked at the kitten, and went behind the register where Honey was. "What's the big deal? It's not like we'd get arrested; we've been adopted by cops!" he said.

"Yeah…I don't think you have a real understanding as to what that really means." Hopps remarked.

"Sure I do! They think we're important, so they're keeping an eye on us! Pretty easy to understand!"

"Important, yes. Dangerous, even more so! The city is getting scared of you thanks to your fiasco with the police car. The fact that you and Adrian were the only ones who were able to get out of the sinking orphanage alone is also making more people aware of you. And that means that more people will be scared of you once they put two and two together. The more people get scared of you, the harder it will be for us to keep you safe."

Hopps looked Benny right in the eyes, and her tone was both serious, and instructive. The puppy was still unable to fully understand why it was such a bad thing for him to be frightening others. He was still too reckless; too quick to make decisions and not think first. If he didn't understand soon, he might become too dangerous for them to handle.

"Ya really should listen to her, boy!" the badger said, taking back the newspaper. "If ya don't, you might end up going to juvy hall, or worse. That's where the police normally bring misbehaving children. They don't listen, they get punished."

Benny looked at her, and then pondered to himself. "Does this juvy lock you in a room all by yourself?" he asked with a smile.

"It does. But the doors are metal, and have bars. No way to get out without the key."

The puppy's smile faded, and Hopps took notice of this. His expression stated to her that that actually sounded a little bit more difficult than what he was used to. Maybe he could be reasoned with after all. Honey put the paper down and looked to the group with a paw on her hip. "Now then, who's hungry?" she asked.

…

Wilde calmly ate his blueberries while his puppy step-son gobbled up the two pancakes on his plate. A lot of the syrup was covering his fur, and he wasn't slowing down on his chewing. Then he looked to the kitten, who was barely touching his toast. He was eating even slower than _Judy_. Just a few small bites every ten seconds, a sip of orange juice, even a napkin…then Nick looked back to the puppy, who belched.

*BRAAAAP*

The kitten looked at him with a twitchy eye. He was really intolerant of that, it seemed. Not that Nick blamed him. Looking back on the two of them, they really were complete opposites. Benny was loud, rude, uncaring, happy-go-lucky, placed his own desires in front of everything else, and never listened to anyone. Adrian was quiet, usually calm, and generally grumpy, observed the situation before acting, and always relied on the smart move to get things done.

Why did he have to get stuck with the puppy?

"Ey… _nw_ I rmbr u…!"

Nick looked to Benny, who had his mouth full of pancake. "Say again, Scoots?" he said with a raised brow.

Benny looked to his mouth, closed it as much as he could, and swallowed most of the pancake on the first swallow, and then the rest followed after. "I said 'now I remember you'!" he repeated.

"Remember me?"

"Yeah! I remember where I've seen you before! It was several years ago! One year before Adrian came to the orphanage, remember? _I_ was one of those kids who liked to play with sticks like they were swords, and _you_ liked to run without a shirt!"

Wilde's eyes slowly widened at the mention of not having a shirt. _Now_ he remembered the boy. Four years ago, in the prime of his hustling life, when he still did the occasional jogging routes…topless.

"An old friend, Nick?" Finnick asked. He was seated next to him with a glass of…something.

"Uh…"

"Must be. Only a select few ever seen you without a top and kept their lunch down."

"Okay, Fin…stop talking. And _you_ …!"

Benny was glugging his orange juice. "Do…not…tell them the story. If _you_ tell them, then you'll exaggerate like you did on the _news_."

"Well then, why don't _you_ tell us Wilde? Especially since you've gotten so nervous all the sudden?" Max suggested. He was behind the counter, next to Honey. His smile of intrigue suggested he was now very interested to hear the tale.

"Count me in, too. I've gotta hear this." Honey pitched in.

All eyes were now on the fox. He knew that he had to tell them, or the boy would, and he'd be even more embarrassed. "Well…fine."

He took a deep breath, and popped a blueberry into his mouth. "It all started four years ago…"

…Four years ago…

I was in the prime of my hustling days. It was still early, and I wasn't ready to start the day just yet. See, back then, I used to take morning jogs around the downtown area of Savannah Central. It started when I was making a call to Finnick in order to tell him when I'd pick him up…

"…so, I'll see you at 11:00, and I'll be sure to bring your new stroller with me. You'll look so cute, sonny boy." I said to him. Over the phone, he was not amused. "It makes me wanna puke, the great lengths you'll travel to humiliate me, especially when you call me things like that! For God's sakes Nick, I'm _older_ than you!"

"Maybe…but _I'll_ always be _taller_ than _you_."

His growling over the phone brought a smile to my face. "Yeah, yeah…real funny."

I was just about to hang up, when his deep growl suddenly perked up. "Oh, uh…word of advice, Nick?"

I stopped myself from hanging up just in time. "Yeah, what is it?"

"For God sakes, wear a _shirt_ this time."

*BEEP*

He hung up the phone, and I was left to my jog. I put my phone in my pocket, and without following his advice, I was off. My jogging route was fairly simple. I'd go down about two blocks, turn around, and come back to my apartment to freshen up for daddy duty. This time though, I was gonna try for three. The jog was the same as it always was; air pumping through my lungs, my heartbeat increasing with each step; a few near hits from angry drivers here and there, the same old, same old. Then I reached the third block.

The third block is the same block that had Benny's orphanage on it. And little four year old Benny Collins, a new member of their community from what I gathered, was a feisty little troublemaker who loved to play swordfights with the other little troublemakers. Being a puppy though, this little tyke had the most energy. I wasn't positive, but I had a feeling that he'd always win.

Anyways (getting sidetracked here), I was making my run across the block, when I noticed him about to hit one of the other kids with his stick. Then all the sudden, his eyes locked right onto mine. And that was when the time stopped. You know that feeling? When time suddenly stops when you're looking at someone and you've got an uneasy feeling that they're about to do something you won't like? Well, that's the feeling I had at that exact moment, eyes locked with this little kid.

I was still running, obviously, but still…the more I looked at him, the more that horrid feeling just seemed to grow. And as it grew, the boy's eyes widened in complete and utter terror. I thought though, that I was gonna make it, because I made it to the end of the block. I made it. I was home free. I was gonna live. But then…then disaster struck.

What I _should've_ done was go all the way around the block, and then go back to my apartment. That way, I wouldn't have seen him again. But no…no I was feeling overconfident this morning. So I turned around and started to go back the way I came.

I turned back, and as I saw that puppy again, he had dropped his stick, his eyes still trained on me, and I realized that he is about to do something. I had no idea what he was gonna do, and I was getting really sweaty with anticipation.

And there, right out of the blue, he points his finger right at me, eyes widened with terror and disgust, and screams, off the top of his lungs:

"LOOK AT THE OLD MAMMAL'S FUZZY CHEST!"

And just like that, all the other little tykes looked right at me, looked right at my old, fuzzy chest, and they screamed, they fake-barfed, they pointed and screamed at me, shouting 'ew', 'yuck' 'gross', and one kid even threw a stick right at my head.

…RIGHT NOW…

"Pff…HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" The older fennec fox just burst out laughing, and almost fell off his seat. He was laughing even harder than the time Judy busted him for tax evasion. "Old mammal…" he squeaked between breaths.

"Oh, yes…you have your laugh, all of you. I know you won't bother holding back on it." And he was right, too. Everyone was laughing; even the kitten was suppressing a giggle. "But lemme tell you, here and now, what I did afterwards…"

His bunny partner stopped her chuckling for a moment, and looked at him with a straight face. "Wha-what do you mean? What did you do?"

"What did I do? Oh, I'll tell you what I did. I picked that stick up, marched right over there and…"

Judy gasped. So did Honey. "Dude!" Max yelled in protest. "I'm kidding, you guys! I didn't actually do that! I wanted to do that; I wanted to do it very much! But I didn't! Okay?"

"Wouldn't have blamed you if you did…" Adrian started with a smile. "…I certainly would've."

"That's a little dark, don't you think?" Judy asked. "Not really." He answered.

He took another sip of his orange juice. "So anyways, you said that we'd be being babysat by Finnick tonight so you could go to an event of some kind? What is the event?"

"It's a charity event; being led by one of the new mayoral electees." The fox answered with a drink of water. "It happens every time there's a new election; the competitors go do several events around the city to make their names better, and raise their chances of getting elected. This one is for that new gopher homebuilder manager that's been fixing a whole bunch of homes lately. I think his name is…uh…"

"Digger. Ronnie Digger." Max answered. "I'll be going myself, believe it or not. I've been hired to play piano for the band." He said proudly.

"And I'll get to be there, in my brand new _dress_!" Honey sang with joy. "Oh yeah. That's right; you wanted to show everyone ?" Max replied.

"That's right! Everyone wait here, I've been waiting all week to show it off!"

Everyone watched her disappear into the backroom, and about ten minutes later, she came back out, in an olive green sheath dress with a black belt, and a gold necklace. She also held a white purse in her paws, which sparkled in the sunlight. "What do you think?" she asked.

"Well, I already saw it, but…it looks beautiful babe." Max said.

"On you, it looks almost decent." Nick said.

"Aw, it matches your eyes." Judy said.

"Well, of course I like it. I saw it first!" Finnick said with a thumbs up.

"I mean…I don't know much about that stuff, but…sure. I guess." Adrian said, completely out of his element.

"Well…if you ask me…" Benny started.

"Don't finish that." Adrian interrupted. But Honey grabbed his paw. "It's okay, baby. Criticism is a good thing too."

The badger kneeled down to look at the puppy, his face still covered in syrup. "Benny? Be honest with me, baby. What do you think?"

She stood to her full height, and did a small pose to show herself off. Benny put his paw on his sticky chin, and folded one leg over the other. "Well, like I was saying. To be totally honest…"

He narrowed his eyes, and looked down towards her lower body. "It makes your hips look bigger."

His comment was followed by a moment of silence around the kitchen. Max darted his eyes around the room in worry. Finnick slowly reached for his glass. Nick and Judy found themselves reaching for each other's paws. Adrian put his two pointer fingers to his mouth in anticipation while his ears folded back.

Honey and Benny looked at each other, both not making a sound, until Honey looked down to her hips, and smiled. "Excellent."

Then she looked to the puppy, and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, lifting him off his feet. "But if you say stuff like that on a regular basis, I'll wring your neck 'til your eyes pop out."

Benny adjusted himself, and made her drop him. "Big deal. Adrian does that to me all the time."

"With a comment like that, I'm not surprised." Nick muttered under his breath.

"Anyways…it's time for us to go." Judy said. "So what do you think, Finnick? Think you can handle them?"

The smaller fox got off of his seat, and looked at them both. The puppy's face was coated with syrup, and his clothes were covered with twigs, bits of leaves, and a little dirt. The kitten on the other hand, was almost completely pristine. "The cat? No problem. The dog? No promises."

…

The group was off in their car. Since they still had several hours to go before going to the event, they had an entire day to themselves. Nick was going to be occupied with his date, and that left Judy alone with the boys. She was already aware of how dangerous they could be after seeing them at work in the supermarket. Sending them to her parents was the first thought that came to mind, but they were hours away. Then there was the option of leaving them with Finnick early, but that seemed a little selfish.

The only real option she had was to look after them herself. Adrian would listen to her, but Benny? Benny had a mind of his own, unwilling to listen before acting on impulse. How could she keep a mammal as stubborn as him in line?

"Hmm…" the bunny was in deep thought on the matter. Keeping him in line would seem impossible for someone who could barely keep still enough to keep his own face clean. Speaking of which, the puppy was trying to use a paper rag to clean up his face, but it had gotten stuck. When it didn't come off, he started getting more jumpy, until Adrian smacked him upside the head. "Knock it off." He said.

Maybe keeping him in line wasn't the best idea; he may try to end up getting away again. But maybe if he was contained in an area where he could act freely…somewhere he wouldn't want to leave…

"Hmm…" a small smile started to form on her face.

"I'm hearing a lot of 'hmms' carrots, you getting an idea?" nick asked.

The bunny looked back to the boys, and saw Benny pull the rag free, taking a bunch of syrup with it, but leaving some paper tears on his face. "Say Benny…how would you like to see the ZPD's obstacle course?"

…

Hopps was a smart mammal; smart enough to come up with good ideas and easy solutions for difficult problems. Benny Collins was as difficult as a problem could ever get, but you've all come to understand that by now.

Like I said before, all references to familiar mammals in this chapter were reviewed, and approved of their involvement. I can also assure you that this is not the last you will have seen of them, they will show up again. A word of warning though; they won't be the only ones.


	8. Chapter 7: You're Dead!

Zootopia's precinct one was hardly the only one of its kind. The city, under an obvious law, had to keep smaller, less obvious stations around less obvious areas of the city. One of those stations wasn't a station, but rather a boot camp for new cadets. The police academy, about a mile or so south of precinct one, was the same area that both Hopps and Wilde had been to, and trained in, and come out on top of everyone else. It was the same place that was owned by none other than Major Friedkin, their instructor in the academy who taught them everything that they'd ever need to know about wearing the uniform of a ZPD officer.

Today, they'd be visiting that same academy for a very specific occasion, and that specific occasion was sitting in the back seat, covered in syrup and bits of napkin. His topaz orange eyes looked at the academy with a combination of curiosity, and confusion.

"I thought you said something about an obstacle course. All I see is a big brown school." He said.

"The obstacle course is in the back, Benny." Judy replied. She drove them into the grounds and parked in the lot, close to the gates. "Say carrots, think any new rookies are going on it right now?" Wilde asked, paws behind his back. "Well, it is that time again." Hopps replied. "Remember when you did your training?"

"Failed, enormous criminal! You're _dead_ , Fox Crossing!" the fox mimicked. His bunny partner stiffened out a chuckle.

"Was that your teacher?" Benny asked, taking off his seatbelt. "Only Major Friedkin herself, Scoots! Merciless, witty, and has a voice so loud, she could speak in a stadium without a microphone."

"Hey Nick, look! There she is now!" Judy pointed.

Indeed she was. Major Friedkin was standing in the front of the academy, paws behind her back, and looking over all the cadets circling her. There were three elephants, two wolves, a rhino, two coyotes that looked like siblings, a lion, a panther, and the smallest in the group, an orange tabby.

"ALRIGHT CADETS! LISTEN UP! THE CITY OF ZOOTOPIA HAS TWELVE ECOSYSTEMS, INCLUDING TUNRATOWN, SAHARA SQUARE, AND THE RAINFOREST DISTRICT, AND THAT'S ONLY _THREE_ ECOSYSTEMS WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS!"

"So that's your instructor?" Adrian asks.

"Yup, that's her! Loud in voice and small in patience, especially when it comes to being lazy." Nick replied, paws behind his back.

"IF YOU'RE GONNA BE PATROLLING THE CITY'S STREETS WITH A BADGE ON YOUR BELT, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO MASTER THEM ALL! OR GUESS WHAT? YOU'LL BE _DEAD_!" she continued, her loud voice refusing to let anything else grab the cadets' attention.

"If only we had her as a mammalger, my life would be so much easier." Adrian said.

"You said there's an obstacle course." Benny said.

"Hang on, Benny." Judy shushed.

"NOW EVERYONE FOLLOW ME TO THE OBSTACLE COURSE! YOUR TRAINING STARTS NOW!"

…

The obstacle course was large, to say the least. It covered the entire back of the academy. On the left, the rainforest district's familiar vines and trees had its fake rain come from the sprinklers up above, mimicking the district perfectly. To the right, Tundratown's icy road made way for a small hill of ice, hiding the freezing waters down below. To the center stood a smaller, less dangerous climate wall, which went several yards before signaling to stop at a bright red line.

To the bunny's left, the puppy eyed the entire course with sparkling eyes, and a drooling tongue. Adrian eyed him in annoyed worry. "Why did you think that bringing him here was a good idea?"Adrian whispered.

"Pretty simple, actually…" Judy started with a whisper of her own. "…every time he's gone off to get himself into trouble so many times, only to get rescued by you so many times, that little Benny Collins only wants to do it again and again. And since this is an obstacle course based off of the real Zootopia, he'll be able to try his luck on the props."

She patted her ward's shoulder and looked at him. "You've done such a bang-up job keeping him safe, that he's forgotten that taking risks have consequence. Something these cadets are yet to experience. We can't stop him from getting in the middle of it, but at least we can choose _what_ he's getting in the middle of. So joining them in their training should wake him up and smell reality."

Her tone was full of confidence, and pride in her accomplishment. Containing Benny within police boundaries would help her keep a close eye on him; plus he'd get to have all the fun he would want in the training course. "It's not a bad idea, I'll admit…but what if the teacher wants him out of the course? Won't you get in trouble?" the kitten asked.

"Not if we play along." The bunny replied.

Adrian's frown wasn't fading, but getting the chance to have a day without that stupid dog's mischief was good enough for him. "Okay, Judy. We'll play it your way for now." He said. "Remember; when he runs off, pretend that you weren't expecting it." Judy added.

"A-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The sound of booming laughter suddenly brought them all to attention. The major polar bear walked towards them with open arms. "Well, well, well, if it isn't two of my favorite cadets, Bunny Bumpkins, and Fox Crossing!" she dulled down her voice, making it easier for her to talk to. "What brings you to the academy today?"

Nick eagerly shook her paw. "Hey major voiceover! We're showing the kids the start of every cop in Zootopia." He said.

"He's not lying!" Judy said. She shook the major's paw, and presented Adrian. "It was our day off today, and before we went to help with security at the Digger fundraiser tonight, we thought we'd show the boys the ropes."

"Ah, so this must be…Rocket Boy Adrian Rory!" she kneeled down and shook his paw. "I've heard a lot about you, kiddo! Apparently, you're the smart one of the family!"

The kitten couldn't help but smirk. "Hey, somebody in this family has to be."

Friedkin chuckled at that, before looking around for the puppy. However, she couldn't see him. "Where's the other one?" she asked.

The other smiles faded with hers. Benny was gone. "That's weird, he was right to next to me two seconds ago." Nick replied, feeling at the empty air. And yet he wasn't. While the adults looked around for him, Adrian, not skipping a beat, pointed to the sandstorm. "If you wish to find our missing troublemaker and stop him before he makes your cadets look even worse, you need only look forward." He said. He hadn't even moved from his spot.

The three looked in his direction, and there he was. With all the cadets moving at a turtles pace through the scorching storm, the small black and white syrup coated canine was casually strolling along, paws in his pockets, shirt flowing like a little blue cape, and body arched forward to walk easier.

"Aaaaand…too late." Adrian said.

Friedkin ran over to the course as fast as she could run, while Judy looked on in disbelief. "Is he prone to walking off like that every second of the day or something?" the fox asked.

Without turning his head, or making a sound, the kitten raised his brow, lowered it to his all too common deadpan look, and tilted his head to look up at the fox. The fox felt the stare piercing his fur, and looked down to him. Then the kitten looked back to the course, and without looking at Nick, punched him in the leg.

Nick got the hint. "Right, stupid question. Sorry."

In the storm, Benny walked past the tabby, who was using his claws to try and help him move through the blazing winds. "Hey, how's it goin' bud?" he said with a commonly friendly tone. The older cat looked at him with surprise at how easily he was moving, before the sands buried him.

"Whoop! YOU'RE DEAD, LASAGNA LOVER!"

Then she ran to the sandstorm course, and blew her whistle. "AND SOMEONE GRAB ROCKET BOY NUMBUH 2 BEFORE HE GETS HURT!"

"She's wasting her breath." Adrian said with his arms folded.

"How do you figure that?" Nick asked.

"Are you _kidding_? One time, he went as close as he could get to the climate wall without catching on fire to roast _marshmallows_! And that's when he was only _five_!"

As they spoke, Benny began to lead the other mammals through the storm, not even slowing down.

"A little hot sand and high winds aren't gonna stop him _now_!"

When he finished talking, one of the coyotes got buried. "YOU'RE DEAD, ACME PRODUCTS!"

Judy couldn't believe her eyes. She figured that Benny wouldn't get hurt from the training courses, but she never thought it'd be _this_ easy for him! It was true that getting him to wander around the course was her idea all along, but she still thought he'd have at least _some_ sort of trouble.

But he didn't. He was fine. He was safe. He was having the time of his life. And most importantly, he was contained and wasn't getting anyone hurt. Her plan was more or less a success.

…

Finnick's was open, and customers were lining up at the booths and tables. The boss mammal was tending to his normal spot at the register, while the raccoon's paws tended to the stove's contents. Being a diner at lunchtime, most food being ordered was that of bugburgers and the sort. His love tended to customers at the tables, filling out orders and earning tips where she could. It was a simple little business, and it paid well. For the fennec, however, business was the last thing on his mind. No, the only thing on his mind was the responsibility he was gonna have to endure in the evening: Children.

He knew enough about children to understand their flaws: they were loud, obnoxious, and totally clueless when it came to the harsh realities of the outside world. Having to pretend to be one for all those years with a certain 'fuzzy chested' mammal, he knew that having to look after real children would be no picnic.

He snickered at the puppy's involvement in Nick's story, and then he thought about him and the kitten. He had a feeling that Nick and his bunny partner had their own thoughts. The puppy, on one paw, was obviously ignorant. If Nick's description and overall looks of the boy were anything to go off of, it showed that he had no understanding of consequence. He just did what he wanted when he wanted to do it. That suggested that he would have to keep an especially close eye on him. On the other paw, was his older, seemingly more mature associate. The kitten seemed to only carry respect for people who were smart enough to deserve it. He was definitely more aware of his cleanliness, and he had an obvious hatred for the puppy's obnoxious streak. Not that he blamed the boy. He honestly reminded him a lot of Nick.

Finnick took his mind off this train of thought and looked at a new customer who had just approached the counter. It was a rabbit with an off-white coat and icy blue eyes. His blue suit suggested that he was a business mammal. "One cup of coffee. Black." He said. His voice was cold and made Finnick feel a small sense of unease. The fennec grabbed a cup off the shelf and used the coffee machine behind the counter to fill up the cup. Finnick placed it in front of the rabbit, and he put it to his lips. The fennec watched his customer for a few seconds before going to tend to another. This one was another fox with orange eyes, and from the look of him, he was in off the street.

"What ya want?" the fennec asked. "Beer." He answered. "It's lunchtime." Finnick replied. "So?" The fox shot back.

The fennec shrugged, and got a bottle out of the fridge. He gave it to the fox, and he chugged down half of it immediately. "Geez, someone's having a bad day." Finnick said with a smirk. "Ugh…bad day? Try bad week." The fox replied.

"Excuse me." a young, chipper voice said from behind. Finnick looked to the other side of the counter, and saw a young female Doberman sitting by herself. She wore a shoulder bag around her and had papers all over. The old fennec walked over, and the young dog tried to organize her papers into a pile. "You don't get out much, do you hun?" the fennec asked. "Uh…not really." She replied. "Oh! Uh, my-my name is, uh…Henri. Henrietta Dobie. You might have heard of me?" she extended her paw with excitement.

"Oh, yeah. You're the one who wrote the 'Rocket Boy' article in the paper." Finnick replied, shaking her paw. "What'll it be?"

"Uh, one bugburger with fries, please?"

The fennec put it in the computer, and then he placed the printed order in Max's window. The raccoon took it, and Finnick went back to the Doberman. "I've gotta feeling you didn't come here for lunch." He said.

The young dog blushed. "Oh…it's obvious, huh?" she said, rubbing the back of her head.

Finnick chuckled and poured her a glass of water. "So, what you really doin' here, hun?"

Henri took a few quick laps from the glass and cleared her throat. "I was actually swinging by to see if your old friend, Officer Wilde was around. I had heard that he was bringing those boys with him, and I was hoping to get a few words from him and his partner."

"Oh, yeah? What about?"

She looked around anxiously and took another few laps of water. "Well, uh…you-you see, I uh…was hoping to learn more about the whole missing orphanage thing."

"What's ta know? It fell in a sinkhole, and everyone vanished."

"I know! I-I know. But, I was still hoping to, well…meet them."

Just then, the bell rang, and Honey went up to the window. She read the ticket, and Finnick waved her over. She placed it at Henri's spot, and the Doberman eagerly took a bite of the bugburger. "I mean, I may have been lucky enough to post the story on them, but aside from what I wrote, I know nothing about them. I wanna get to know them, actually get a biography on them. You know, so I can, uh…"

She rubbed the back of her head again, took a large pawful of fries, and stuffed them into her mouth. "…get noticed by my boss."

"Really, now?"

She had a swig of water. "Yeah…I'm new in the business, and I'm pretty sure that everyone sees me posting the missing orphanage story as a stroke of beginners luck. If I can interview the only two kids who made it out, then maybe I can get more readers for my column."

Finnick looked at the table where the two boys were eating a few hours ago. It was occupied by a family now, but he could still remember watching that puppy smother himself in syrup. "Well, you've missed them by a few hours, but if you really wanna meet them, I know where they'll be tonight…"

…

The rainforest district's training course was a good solid replica of the real thing, only it was narrower, like a jungle gym. The sprinklers above provided the right atmosphere for a large number of trees in that narrow jungle gym. Nick remembered the first time he had gone on that course. The real rainforest district's sprinklers moved around several degrees before coming back around. These ones followed the cadets.

At this point, the fox understood what the bunny had been attempting as he saw his ward get cleaner as the sprinklers washed the syrup off his fur. Now soaked from head to paw, Benny ran across the fake vines while the cadets were swinging under them like monkey bars. Friedkin stood next to the fox, watching with a look of interest. Nick didn't know what she was thinking, but he did know that she didn't want him to stop anymore.

One of the wolves slipped and fell into the mud, face first. "YOU'RE DEAD, HUFFIN'-PUFF!" Friedkin exclaimed. "EVERYONE PICK UP THE PACE! THAT LITTLE PUPPY IS MAKING YOU ALL LOOK BAD, AND HE'S NOT EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE UP THERE! IF YA CAN'T BE BETTER THAN AN EIGHT-YEAR-OLD, THEN WHAT ARE YOU DOING AT THIS ACADEMY?!"

Oh…now he understood.

*Beep Beep*

*Beep Beep*

That was his phone. Nick fished around in his pocket until he found it, vibrating. Kris' picture was on the screen, with her name above. He looked around and saw everyone else was watching the cadets, so he answered freely.

"Hi, Krissy. What's up, hun?" he started.

"Hey, Nick. Just calling to check in. Haven't heard from you in a few days, and I was wondering if you were still taking me out tomorrow?"

The fox placed his paw over his eyes. That was right. He had promised to take Kris out to the movies tomorrow. But everything that was going on had made him forget. Becoming a step-father certainly wasn't helping with that. Nonetheless, Nick _was_ a fox of his word.

"Don't worry hun. I haven't forgotten. Just been really tied up is all." He replied.

"Oh. Right. You had to adopt that kid. Hey, now that I think about it, isn't he the same kid I told you about on our last date?" she asked.

As Kris was talking, Benny jumped off of one of the fake trees, and back down onto the vines. The panther tried to do the same, but missed his mark and fell face first into the mud.

"It's him alright, and he's embarrassing some cops at the academy as we speak. Jumping on trees and swinging from vines…I always get the short straw when it comes to problems." Nick said with a sigh. "But enough of me. What's new with you?"

As he asked this, he watched his adopted puppy carelessly jump on the rhino's horn. The rhino was clearly not expecting this to happen, because the moment he jumped on, his grip on the vine he was climbing loosened, and caused him to slip. He fell down to the mud, face first, close to the panther and Benny slid on one of the elephants' trunk, and landed on the base of the jungle course. Unlike the rhino, the elephant refused to let go and kept climbing.

"Oh, you know, busy with work. Deliveries have been picking up really fast. I've had to be on my toes all week."

"Well, that's a bummer." Nick commented. "Don't worry about it, alright?" After this fundraiser is over, I'll find a place to drop off Benny, and then it'll be you, me, and that Sci-fi flick you've been hammering on about."

He heard a sigh of relief on the other end. "Can't wait. See you then."

*Beep*

Nick hung up the phone and looked back to the training course. His partner looked at him with a heavy heart, and looked on with him.

"Was that Kris?" she asked, seemingly afraid of the answer. "Yeah." The fox answered casually.

…

As far as I'm aware, the remainder of the day was spent watching Benny make the cadets look like idiots. From using them as stepping stools for the ice wall to using the wind of the false climate wall for sand-sledding with a garbage lid, the puppy was occupied all day, just as Hopps had planned. Soon enough, however, the day faded to late afternoon, and it began to get dark out. It would soon be time to drop the children off at Finnick's apartment and prepare for a night at the mayoral candidate's fundraiser.

Sorry to everyone for the late update. School had been priority one, and I've just finished finals for the semester. I should be able to submit a little faster now that I've got some more time.


	9. Chapter 8: Babysitting

The drive over to the aged Fennec's apartment was oddly quiet. Officer Wilde drove the car with his uniform newly fastened in place, while Hopps checked her phone to look at the deadline.

The schedule read 6:30, and right now it was 5:45. That meant that they had a shrinking window to make sure that the two boys were in Finnick's care so they could hurry up to the fundraiser before the children could cause any more problems. As mean a thing as it was to do, Finnick was just gonna have to take care of it himself for the night.

Wilde parked the car at the parking lot and got out of his seat. Finnick's place was certainly far from being clean, to put it lightly. But from what they had seen so far, the two young mammals would be able to handle it. The one true concern would be the smell.

"Now boys, remember; Finnick is doing this because he's willing to put up with you, so I want you both to be extra nice to him. Don't break any of his stuff; don't go into his private property…"

The bunny kneeled down to look the two boys in the eye.

"…and whatever you do, do NOT touch his van."

Adrian eyed Benny with his normal glare.

"Finnick's got a van?" the puppy started.

"Exactly," Hopps replied.

She went to the door, opened it up, and allowed the others to go in before her.

"No, seriously; Finnick has a van?"

*PFF*

"Shut UP, Collins!" Adrian shouted, punching the puppy in the shoulder. He grabbed Benny's backpack and slung it onto his shoulders. They were starting up the staircase and Hopps joined them.

The apartment Finnick was living in was honestly not far off from Nick's as far as cleanliness went; in fact, it was almost worse in several ways. The building's wallpaper was peeling and moldy, some of the staircase wood was rotting, and the whole building reeked of cigarette smoke.

"Nick, are you sure that it was okay to bring them here? Finnick might be okay, but these other mammals…"

Nick placed a paw on his partner's shoulder.

"Relax, Carrots. Finnick knows how to adapt in tough times. If it gets bad enough, he'll probably take them out somewhere."

"Hopefully, far away from here." The kitten said, using his shirt like a makeshift mask. "This place reeks."

They reached the third floor and reached a room that read 3C. Judy knocked on the door and waited a moment.

"Gimme a sec…" a deep voice growled on the other side.

*click*

*clak*

*pk*

The sound of locks being undone could be heard from the other side. A few seconds later, the grumpy fennec burst open the door, clutching a wooden bat in his hands.

"Anyone eyeing you?" he said immediately.

"Uh, no. Should they be?" Judy asked.

"Everyone inside," Finnick demanded. He hurried the four into his room, looked outside and across the halls, and then closed and re-locked his door.

"You think I'm paranoid, but some of these people ask for cash when strangers come in," he said. He placed his bat in an umbrella jar and immediately calmed down. "And not in a nice way."

The boys looked around at the slightly cleaner apartment room. Certainly run down like the rest of the building, but there wasn't anything growing on the walls. The floors were covered by a damp, but shag carpeting that went all the way to the other doors in the room, which were probably the bed and bathrooms. A series of garbage cans were in little corners of the living room and kitchen. They were mostly littered with empty beer cans, and a few used plastic sporks.

The kitchen's sink had a stack of dusty plates and more plastic sporks in the clean section, and the dining table had a non-emptied ashtray on it. The kitchen was the only room in the place that had tiles for floors. "Not exactly the most charming place in Zootopia, but probably better than the rest of the building," Adrian said. He still held the backpack on his shoulders.

"Not real alluring, I know. But the rent is good." Finnick replied.

"You know where I can set this down?" Adrian asked.

"You can put it on the couch."

Adrian looked behind him and noticed a rugged brown couch in front of a small, old TV. He took a seat and placed the backpack down. He unzipped it and looked inside. In it was a large pile of salty junk food.

"Benny? What is this?"

The puppy took a seat next to the kitten and pulled out a bag of chips.

"The food I stole from some outdoor booth when fake dad wasn't looking." He answered.

Adrian squeezed the bridge of his nose, closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply. He knew that he would always have this conversation a lot when it came to Benny, but what really made it sad was that he was getting better at it.

"I thought you said you had packed the essentials."

Benny shoved a large pawful of chips into his mouth. "I don't even know what that means. I said that I was gonna get the important stuff." He replied with a mouthful.

"That's what 'essential' means. And this isn't what I meant."

Benny swallowed what was in his mouth. "Oh, yeah? Then just what _did_ you mean then?"

As he dug his muzzle into the bag, Adrian got out a bag of vanilla cookies. "I meant like blankets, toothpaste, some toothbrushes, maybe some toilet paper. Did you even think about packing a pillow?!"

He tore open the bag, not caring that he spilled a little on the couch, and spilled the rest into his mouth.

"Usually, I just use the backpack for a pillow," Benny replied.

"I have extra pillows in the closet. You can use those tonight if you need to." Finnick said.

"Oh, boys. We weren't planning on staying there overnight. We're just going to do security, and then come back for you later tonight." Judy said.

"Well, there you go," Benny said, opening another bag. "And you thought we'd need toothbrushes."

Judy checked her watch, and the time read 5:53. "Hey Nick, we should probably get to the station now." She said.

"Right behind ya, carrots. Go ahead." Nick replied.

Judy fastened her belt and hurried out the door. "Don't take too long!" she shouted over her shoulder.

The fox waved after her and looked to his aged friend. "So, normal food by seven, in bed around nine if we don't get back in time, and whatever you do, don't let them out of your sight."

Finnick looked up at Nick with a raised brow. "Reciting old times, 'daddy'?"

Officer Wilde couldn't help but snicker. "Just don't let them leave the building." He said turning to the door. He was just at the knob when he turned around. "And don't take your eyes off the puppy!"

Finnick watched as he slammed the door to hurry off after his partner. He looked to the two boys, and more specifically to the puppy. The puppy caught his gaze and smiled widely at the aged fennec.

…

It was 6:02 by the time they reached the station. Hopps and Wilde got to their parking space and hurried on inside. It was already dark out, and the sky had a series of shining stars lighting it up almost as much as the city neon.

They ran inside the front entrance and quickly waved to Clawhauser, who was doing something on his phone. They hurried into the briefing room and shut the door behind them. Everyone else was there and talking amongst themselves. The two had just gotten to their seats when Bogo got into the room.

"Everyone to your seats." He said, looking at his files.

The officers did as instructed, and sat down; while Bogo put on his glasses, and took a look at the file he was holding. "Now then, onto business."

He looked to his officers with his trademark stare.

"As you are all well aware, Ronnie Digger's fundraiser is tonight and being held in Sahara Square. The police have been asked to assign additional security, which is why some of you are getting additional nightshift."

This earned some groaning from some of the officers. "Now, I probably should apologize for that, but I'm not going to because; surprise! I don't care."

As he began to assign officers their roles, Hopps looked to the windows and began to zone out. It had been a long time since the epidemic that cemented her career as an officer, and now with the orphanage sinking, it seemed as if she was a rookie all over again. She had been looking at the news feeds and social media, and she knew that people were scared. Was there going to be another building that would vanish? Were the children that vanished going to be alright? Were they all still alive, even?

The people were asking questions like this ever since the incident and she couldn't provide a single answer. And now, she had to tend to the needs of the only two children who got away, and she wasn't even certain if she was up to the job.

"…and finally, Hopps, and Wilde:"

She snapped to attention and looked at her chief.

"You will be guarding the front entrance."

He closed the file and started to go back to his office. "That is all; dismissed."

Wilde nudged his partner on the shoulder and looked to the door. Hopps got out of her seat and walked quickly to the exit. As she and all the other officers went to the entrance, Clawhauser looked at them all leave.

"Break a leg, you guys!" he called cheerfully.

"Hopefully, we won't have to!" Wilde called back.

All the officers got to their cars and immediately began to caravan to Sahara Square.

…

The ride to the Palm Hotel was filled with radio chatter. All the officers were busy checking in with each other, scanning the roads and observing all the civilian cars going to, and from their destination. Despite their obvious lack of involvement, the officers needed to be sure that not a single risk was to be taken. They, like the rest of the city, was on edge due to the sinking, and tonight needed to go off without a hitch, or else the already serious unrest would escalate.

"Hey, carrots, you alright?" Wilde asked.

Hopps shook her head to clear these thoughts and looked to her partner.

"You were kinda…zoning out."

Hopps took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm fine, Nick. Just stressed, is all." She answered.

"Well, you can put that aside for now, because we're here." The fox stated.

And they were. Judy looked out the front, and there, in its shining, shrub-like glory, stood the Palm Hotel and Casino: the largest, and most expensive resort in the entire city, and world-famous for its five-star amenities, including its private pools, its hibernation huts, and of course, its 360 degree view of the entire city. The building itself was a thousand feet tall and had a massive array of lights gazing upon it, making the building appear even more majestic.

The officers drove into its parking lot and took a look at the large array of wealthy patrons already lining up to enter its doors. Ronnie Digger's fundraiser was a massive kickstart for his mayoral campaign, and with these many mammals already lining up, it looked like he was on the right track to winning the election in a landslide.

"Well; shall we?" Nick said, getting out of the car.

"Yup. I'm ready." Judy replied.

They exited the vehicle and began to make its way to the front gate. The large group of patrons looked even longer when they got to the entrance. Stretching for what they could guess was miles were a large array of finely dressed patrons; males, big and small all dressed in black tuxedos and their elegant wives wrapped around their arms in tight, sparkly, and colorful dresses. Already guarding the front entrance, a duo of tough looking rhinos stood at each end of the door, ignoring the impatient complaints from the wealthy looking mammals, demanding to be let in.

"So, I guess I'll just stand on one side, and you'll stand on another?" Hopps suggested.

"Sure," Wilde replied. "I'll stand on the right."

He did as such, and Judy stood on the left. The rhino now next to her took a small glance at the bunny, but quickly looked back to the impatient crowd.

"Judy Hopps, right?" he said.

"Oh! Uh, yeah. Yeah, that's me." she replied.

She put her paws behind her back and looked to the large line. In the other entrances, the other officers had already gathered and were standing guard with other bouncers at other doors. She stood up on her tiptoes and started to swing her body absentmindedly as she started to listen more closely to the complaining patrons.

"I want to play roulette!" one patron demanded.

"I'm hungry!" another shouted.

Hundreds upon hundreds of patrons screaming random complaints as they demanded to be let in, and not a single one could be identified no matter how loud they screamed because the mammals next to them screamed just as badly.

The situation was getting awkward fast, and Judy was starting to lose her cool. Standing outside and listening to this was not going to be fun. She only hoped that the children were having more fun than she was.

Not wanting to think about them now, she looked to the rhino next to her and nudged him in the leg.

"Bet it gets pretty overwhelming sometimes, right?" she asked with her normal cheery demeanor.

"Heh…no…not really." He replied. "You get used to it after a few months."

Judy couldn't help but whistle. Surviving more than a day doing this was admirable. But months?

"So…how long you work here, then?"

"Three years, bunny. I've been listening to people screaming to be let in for three whole years."

He looked down at her.

"You'd think that it'd become too much, but after a while, you get over the chatter, and just accept it as another part of your life."

 ***WHUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE***

Out of nowhere, a loud horn sounded off and coming into the parking lot, was a black limo with silver trim pulling into the parking lot. On the side of it, a large logo reading: 'Digger Industries' coated the doors, with a shovelhead serving as the 'D'.

"You know, Carrots, I don't think that I've ever actually seen this guy before," Nick said with a calm look. "I mean, I know he runs one of the best construction companies in the city, but I don't think I've ever actually seen what he looks like."

"I heard once that he likes mentoring at ranger scout gatherings." The bouncer next to him stated. "Apparently, he used to be a ranger scout back in the day."

"Oh…no kidding," Wilde said, his smile slowly fading.

The limo stopped right outside the main entrance, and the door opened for a hefty group of security guards. Like the bouncers, they were rhinos, all dressed in black suits and wearing earpieces for communication. Five-lined up on the left, and four lined up on the right, and together they pushed the patrons aside to make for an easier walking room.

The last guard walked to the limo and opened up the door to let Mr. Digger out.

He was a gopher, about four feet tall due to his species, and had two large buck teeth. Like the guards, he wore a black tux, but unlike them, he wore a bright red necktie and a matching corsage on his jacket pocket and had a black cane with a silver grip on it. His brown eyes, as far as officer Hopps could see, had some sincerity in them, although as far as she knew, there wasn't much in there.

"Huh…" she said. "What do you think of him, Nick?"

The bunny turned to face her partner, but quickly took notice of his altered expression.

"Nick?"

His eyes had widened to the point that they were bulging out of his head. His mouth looked as though it had been sewn shut, and tiny beads of sweat were coming down his forehead, dripping off his fur. His stance had turned almost impossibly still, his hands clenched into nervous fists as his knees started wobbling in anticipation.

"That's one of the mammals from my ranger scout unit." He said quietly. "He was the one who had me tied up."

Judy was immediately at a loss for words. She looked back to the gopher as he began waving to the clapping patrons and started walking down the pathway to the entrance. She knew for a long time how much that club of ranger scouts had hurt her partner and best friend, but now he was here?

"Thank you! Thank you all! You're all beautiful! Oh! Love that dress!"

Ronnie was expressing several different comments to the long line of patrons lining up at the entrance. Wilde was as nervous as can be from the possibility that he'd recognize him. His paws were clenched into fists as he got closer, his knees began to wobble faster, and his eyes were glued to the sky.

"Please don't look at me. Please don't look at me. Please don't look at me."

He continuously pleaded to himself as he continued to look upwards. Ronnie was now making his way to the entrance. He immediately took notice of Judy and started to eagerly shake her paw.

"And a big thank you to the Zootopia police force for the extra security tonight! Your dedication has always been…!"

He was shaking her paw with every word when he moved his eyes to her partner. The fox officer, still eyeing the sky, was recognized immediately.

"Oh my god…Nicholas P. Wilde!" he shouted with a broad smile and open arms. "It has been forever!"

The fox clenched his eyes shut and bit his lower lip as the gopher eagerly shook his paw.

"Why, I haven't seen you since the night we…"

The gopher paused and looked up to think of the right words to speak.

"…muzzled me and beat me up…on camera." The fox finished.

"We had a camera?" Ronnie queried. "Hm…don't think it was mine, though."

He hadn't let go of Nick's paw, but as the fox tried to remove himself from the gopher's grasp, Ronnie tightened his grip and went back to shaking.

"But you are right though; it has been so long since that night!"

Judy looked away with worry.

"I remember when I badmouthed you on the floor. We had just gotten the muzzle on and then we were getting all rowdy…"

He paused and looked to the camera mammal that was following him.

"Hey, you can edit out this conversation right?"

The camera mammal gave him thumbs up.

"Excellent! Five hundred you never speak of it again." He said quickly.

He looked back to Nick, who now looked even more uncomfortable.

"Anywho, Nick, really great catching up on such good times; has been forever since we had a laugh like that."

"Oh, that's funny…I don't recall laughing myself." The fox said through gritted teeth.

"Yes well…long time ago and all that." Ronnie stated.

He finally released the fox's now sweaty paw and took a key out of his pocket.

"Now then! As your next mayor, I hereby declare my first fundraiser: OPEN!"

And with that, he opened the doors, and the patrons flooded the hotel in seconds. It took twenty minutes for the first wave to enter the front doors, and another half hour for the ones in the back to actually get close to the entrance. After a long and loud fifty-four minutes of sharply dressed animals filling the hotel, Judy was finally able to see her partner standing on the other side of the door. His expression was a mixture of annoyance, embarrassment, and hurt feelings.

"Nick…" Judy started.

"He thought it was funny carrots." Nick said. "Him and his friends beat me up and gave me a reason to be afraid of muzzles. And when I see him again, he treats it like a playdate between childhood friends."

Judy had her mouth open when he was speaking, and when he stopped, she closed it, and looked to her feet. The bunny took a deep breath and looked out over to the road, standing on her tip toes and placing her paws behind her back. She wasn't sure what exactly she should say at this moment, but she knew that she had to be careful; this would not be a good time to crack a joke.

Eventually, she came to a decision, and planted her feet firmly on the ground. "Nick…I'm sorry."

Wilde pinched the bridge of his nose, and placed his free paw on his hip. "It's okay, carrots. It's not like it was your fault or anything; you were in Bunny Burrow, just dreaming of making the world a better place."

Judy walked over to her partner, and placed her paw on his. "I never stopped dreaming. And I'm happy I got to live that dream with you."

Nick looked down to her, and couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, carrots. That means a…"

*ssssssssssssccccccrrrrreeeeeaaaaaaAAAAACCCCCC **CCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHH***

The fox's eyes opened wide and immediately looked out ahead with pointed ears.

"Uh…carrots? You hear that?"

The cop partners and everyone else at the front of the building all looked straight across from the building, and heard the sound of a screeching car coming down the road. Then, out of nowhere…

 ***SCREEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATCH***

 ***BAM***

It was Finnick's van, coming from one of the buildings, and swerving towards the building at full speed, almost running over a gerbil's car in the process. Even worse, it wasn't slowing down. In fact, it seemed to be going faster the closer it got.

"Holy crud!" one of the patrons screamed. He and several of the other patrons ran into the building, seeking cover from the possible collision.

The two officers watched in horror as the realization hit them. They didn't need to guess what was going on; they _knew_.

"Collins!" Nick deduced.

"Where's Finnick?!" Hopps demanded.

…

The older fennec really wanted to start strangling that little maniac for stealing his ride, but he couldn't. The puppy, crazy as he was, was smart enough to tape him to the wall so he couldn't attack him. However, he didn't tape his mouth, only his torso and arms. All he could do was gnaw on the strong tape, hoping he could eventually free his arms with his teeth.

The puppy was driving like crazy. He didn't have to look out the window to know it. For the past half hour, he was swerving left, right, left, right, apparently trying to find the charity event. "You know, the last time I drove a car, I was six!" the puppy said.

Finnick took a moment to spit out what little he had managed to chew off to reply. "Yeah…Nick told me about that earlier today! Your friend had to stop you by jumping onto the car!"

"Yup! You think he'd be braver by now!" Benny commented.

"You almost got him killed you little jerk!" Finnick angrily declared before resuming his chewing.

Several bites later, and he got one of his arms free. Now he could pull the rest of the tape off much easier. In about fifteen seconds, he was free.

"Alright, you little brat, get your black and white boney butt, out of the driver's seat! RIGHT-!"

 ***SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaTCH***

 ***BAM***

A sudden swerve to the left sent Finnick flying into the air, face first into the wall of his van. Then he landed on his butt, right next to the door. "Ugh…ow!" he said, rubbing his forehead.

"He-hello!? Finnick!? Finnick is that you!?"

The fennec looked to the closed door, confused. There was a muffled voice coming from the other side. He could barely hear it since it was muffled from the metal surface, _and_ the sound of fast driving, but he could still recognize the voice. "Adrian?"

His eyes widened. "ADRIAN?!"

"Help me!" the voice begged.

"ADRIAN! What-what happened?! Why are you outside the van!?"

"I…I saw Benny dragging you into the van, so I tried to catch him by coming into the back! But the doors are locked from the outside, and when he took off, I couldn't get off fast enough!"

 ***honk* *honk***

The muffled honking of a car horn interrupted the kitten's words. "Please! Let me in!" he pleaded.

The doors were locked from the outside, but not from the inside. Finnick took the left handle, and pushed it open immediately. "ADRIAN!"

He poked his head out of the open door, but when he looked to his right, no one was there. "Adrian?"

Then he looked to the door he had opened, and saw it dangling in the wind. "Oh…"

He immediately pulled it shut, and opened the other door. "Adrian?"

There he was. His tiny paws squeezing the door handle so tightly, his grey paws had turned red. His green eyes were teary and bulging out of his skull, and he wasn't moving a muscle. Finnick tried to tug at the poor boy's arms, but no matter how hard he pulled, he just wouldn't budge.

The fennec looked back to the puppy, still driving the van, and came to a conclusion. "Right, so…you don't seem to be able to move, and probably won't be letting go any time soon, so…I'm gonna stop the van first, and then I'll…get you…off of there."

He slowly closed the door, a large pit forming in his stomach. There would not be enough booze to help him out of this little guilt trip for a long, long time. Then he noticed him. That evil, psychotic little brat who caused all of this by wanting to go for a joyride. This was _all his fault_.

"Okay, you little runt! LAST WARNING! STOP! THE VAN! **NOW**!" he commanded.

"You got it, pal!" he puppy replied.

He slammed both feet on the breaks, causing the van to start swerving out of control.

…

The van was now swerving out of control. Even worse, it wasn't stopping, just barely slowing down. Hopps realized that there were still people watching from a very unsafe distance, and looked to her partner. "Nick!"

Wilde snapped out of his trance of watching the chaos, and looked to her partner. "Come on, we gotta move these people out of the way!"

She grabbed her partner's paw, and hurried to the others; they were followed by the bouncers. She grabbed the porcupine near the street, and pulled her aside. Wilde did something similar with the old goat lady and her husband. The bouncers worked together to get one latecoming couple out of the way, along with their chauffer. The van was starting to slow down now, but the hippo child who was walking by with his mother was now without his mother, and sobbing loudly. "NICK!" Hopps shouted.

"I GOT HIM!" he shouted back. The timing was perfect. Just as Nick lifted the boy up and out of harm's way, the van came to a complete stop, rear to the door.

Everyone present was able to see the bulgy eyed kitten hanging on for dear life, unmoving, and completely silent. In the fox's arms, the little hippo boy was still crying softly, holding the fox tightly. "Oh! Oh my goodness! Honey!"

The hippo's mother rushed to her child, and the boy hesitantly let his grip on the fox go before he tightly hugged his mother. "Thank you, officer!" the young hippo said. The fox merely patted the boy before looking to the catatonic kitten. Then the door to the van opened, and out stumbled an old looking fennec, holding his mouth with puffy cheeks. His face was green. He looked around at everyone, and then puked all over the matted entrance. He stumbled towards the kitten, and sat on the van's back step, holding his chest tightly, and panting heavily.

"Alright!" a voice said from inside the van. Everyone watched silently as a black and white puppy with orange eyes jumped from the van in excitement. "BEST! JOYRIDE! EVER!"

Hopps, Wilde, the bouncers, the hippos, the patrons, and the fennec all looked at the boy; before Hopps narrowed her eyes pulled out her tranquilizer gun, and shot him in the center of his chest. It took a second for the boy to take notice of the dart, and smoothly pulled it out. He looked at it with a raised brow, and sniffed at the feathery hind part that looked like a bunch of grass.

Hopps lowered her tranquilizer with confusion, only for the two bouncers to come up to her.

"May we try, officer?" one of them said.

Judy looked to the puppy, still holding the dart, and then back to the bouncers; she nodded.

The two rhinos then nodded to each other, and pulled out their taser guns.

"Hey kid!" the other one said.

Benny looked at them with a raised brow, and they shot the puppy simultaneously with their tasers, making him jitter and fidget at the sheer force of the powerful electrical currents. The two tasers lasted about five seconds in total.

Then, without emotion, or any words, he fell face first to the ground, out cold.

…

The terror had ended, and now the party was able to begin. There were still some shaky mammals, but the alcohol was helping with that. In one of the backrooms, the troublesome puppy sat in a wooden chair, handcuffed, with the large bouncers on each side to him. He was groggy, his fur was staticy and he was a little grumpy. "This is so stupid." He muttered.

"COLLINS! SHUT UP!"

The loud voice snapped him almost completely awake as Judy Hopps stomped into the room. She looked furious. "Uh…" he was honestly at a loss for words, kinda like when Honey grabbed him by the throat earlier today. Her purple eyes were piercing his thoughts with a cold, icy glare.

"Um…"

She got right into his face, silencing him.

"SHUT! UP!

The boy's mouth was open, but it quickly closed. "You stole a van! You kidnapped your babysitter! You almost killed your friend, a young hippo, and God knows how many pedestrians, NOT TO MENTION ALL THOSE DRIVERS ON THE ROAD!"

Benny remained silent. The only person who had ever yelled at him like this before was Adrian. And he wasn't really scared of Adrian. Not really, not like the other children were, for whatever reason. But this bunny? This older, wiser, surprisingly scarier bunny? He just couldn't muster the courage to say anything witty like he always did.

"Now, you'd better count yourself lucky that I'm not your mother, because if I was…if…I…was…you'd be sent to juvy hall faster than it took for you to get here!"

She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "However…your father is insistent on giving you one…more…chance! And since I respect him enough to trust him, I'm going to give you one last chance, but mark my words, Benjamin Maxwell Collins! If you ever, and I mean, EVER! Pull a stunt like this again! I will make you understand the true meaning of consequence if it's the last thing I do!"

The boy had listened to every word she said. His eyes were almost as bulgy as the still kitten nearby, his paws were shaking, and he thought he could smell some pee coming from his pants. "Do I make myself clear?!" she demanded.

All Benny did was give the slightest nod.

"Good…"

She released him, and composed herself. "Now stay here until the party is over, and do not leave the building for any reason."

She got back in his face, making him sink in his chair. "ANY…REASON…"

And with that, she left the room, and the bouncers went out with her, closing the door behind them.

…

Judy was feeling good now. She could tell that her words got through to him. It seemed as if he was going on all his life without being told off like that, and it made him think that he was untouchable. It felt good to show him that he wasn't. Now that he was listening, she could attend her duties.

"Hopps…"

The bunny looked to her right, and saw the chief arriving. "Got to say, I'm impressed."

The bunny raised a brow. "With what, sir?"

"With you. I could hear everything from outside the room, and I looked at the boy when you left. He looked terrified. I don't think anyone's ever yelled at him like that before.

Hopps and Bogo looked back to the room, its door closed. "Well, we can just count that as yet another thing the orphanage mammalger did wrong." That was Wilde speaking. He appeared from behind the chief, holding a glass of wine in his paw. "You'd think after so many years of looking after that little monster, she'd figure out how to keep him in line." He added.

"Yeah. Go figure." Hopps said.

"Hmph. Well, anyways, most of the other officers have the place under tight surveillance, and the standard security team's all set up. Why don't you take a moment to calm down?" Bogo suggested. Hopps didn't need to ask why. She could tell that she probably still looked furious. "Thank you, chief." She said.

Without saying a word, she stormed off towards the bar. Last time she went out drinking, it was February, and she was having a contest with the precinct's other girls after a large raid. It was probably the biggest thing that ever happened after she joined the force, but was unable to assist. Nevertheless, she others invited her to join in the contest anyways. She won.

While the other girls were impressed with her, they also noticed that all the alcohol in her system had made her violent. How violent, she didn't know, but right now, she didn't care. She needed to calm down, and right now getting a drink was the only way she could think of.

The bar was packed with a bunch of wealthy dressed mammals, laughing and enjoying themselves, spilling their drinks from their glasses all over the wooden floor. The bar itself didn't have many others attending it; just the bartender in his white shirt and bowtie, and a cheetah in a black suit. Judy took a seat two seats down from the cheetah. Neither her, nor the bartender was moved at her arrival. The cheetah just took another large swig from her glass, while the bartender started cleaning another one of the glasses from her pile. Judy looked at the bartender, and got a good look at his features. He was a reindeer, a rather handsome reindeer, dressed in a white shirt with a black bowtie, a grey vest, and a white apron. His build was well-toned, but not overly muscular, and his golden eyes reflected a large amount of care and maturity.

He walked over to the bunny, and placed the glass back on the shelf before putting his rag back on his shoulder. Then he looked to the bunny. "Margarita, please." She said. "And make sure it's one of _those_ glasses." She said referring to the one he just washed. The reindeer smirked, and took what she assumed was the same glass, and prepared her drink. He set it on the table, and went back to the empty glasses. Hopps took several large swallows, emptying about a quarter of the glass, and coughing a little bit at the strong taste.

"Heh…"

Her strong ears picked up the sound of a snicker, and she turned to see the cheetah glancing at her. Her deep, vibrant blue eyes locked with her, and her scarred lips had a smirk on them. "Let's see, now…"

She put down her glass, and looked at her with her hands like a movie director. "Hmm…steady income…stable job…"

She picked her glass back up, glugging down the remains of the glass' remnants, not even making a face, before picking up the half empty bottle. "…terrible love life…friend zoned by your cute co-worker 'cause he's already datin' another woman, and parents ain't givin' no datin' advice." Her voice had a thick new-owleans accent, and everything she just said described her perfectly. "And here I thought the bartender was supposed to be psychic." Judy stated as she took a smaller sip. "Who, Craig? Naw, girl. He's a total sweetheart."

Hopps couldn't help but smile as she took another sip. "Got some history?" She asked.

"Oh, Craig and I go back to 'bout seven yea's. Used to bartend Koslov's in Tundratown. Met 'im when I was doin' a business trip."

She took the bottle, and almost emptied it in her mouth. Again, not a face was made. "Just look at how history repeats itself."

"Mmm."

Judy took another sip, and watched as Craig took the nearly empty bottle from the table. The cheetah however, slapped him on the wrist before he left, and drank the rest of it in haste. "Okay, _now_ you can take it."

The reindeer chuckled, and threw the empty bottle in the recycling. "Another, I assume?" He guessed.

"Just as long as it ain't beer. I didn't come for the weak sauce." She said. Hopps looked down to her own glass, and realized that it was almost empty. Guess she wasn't taking sips after all. "You know what? Get some shot glasses; I'll help her out." She said.

The cheetah chuckled at her offer. She pinched her eyes, and smiled at her. "Now ya talkin'." She said.

…

Nick sat at a table, calmly drinking from his wine glass next to Fru-Fru and her father. He watched, and shook his head at the sight of his partner starting to get drunker and drunker, one shot at a time, while that cheetah lady next to her wasn't even flinching. To his left, the stage presented only Max, who was calmly playing his piano in the spotlight, while the now calmed patrons sat in their own tables to hear him play. Close by, Honey had her phone out and was filming him. Nick could tell, even from the distance she was at, that she loved the tux he was wearing. Honey herself was dressed in her olive green dress, and her white mane was curled upwards.

"You okay, Nicky? You look a little down." Fru Fru stated. "Eh…just Judy. Look at her, trying so hard to keep up. She's gonna hurt herself if she doesn't stop." He stated.

"Yeah, I get what you're sayin'." Mr. Big replied. "That's how most girls get at this point. Especially ones like poor Judy."

Nick looked to him. "What do you mean, 'like poor Judy'?" he asked. Mr. Big took a sip from his glass. "Well, look at you, Nicky. The job and income you're making? She's got all that. But you've got something she just can't seem to grasp good enough; a relationship. It's been making her so upset lately she's wanted to start drinking. Only reason she hasn't up till now is because she didn't want to look like she had a problem."

"Nick couldn't help but smile. "If anyone's got a problem, it's her brand new drinking buddy." He said.

"Heh. Ya got that right. That cheetah's drinking from the bottle like it was ginger ale. Not many people that can do that anymore." He took another sip from his wine glass. "Come to think of it, that girl looks kinda familiar." He said, leaning closer to try and examine her from a distance. "I think she came to Zootopia before…"

Nick's smile faded, and he looked away from them to look at something else. _Anything_ else. The night had almost turned into a disaster thanks to Benny and that van stunt he pulled, and he was still a bit shaken from almost being run over. Even worse, Judy had been put in a bad mood, and no matter how hard he wanted to, he just couldn't find the courage to talk to her. His gaze immediately locked his eyes with an icy stare coming from a male rabbit. Nick was almost shocked at the sight of the cold, emotionless gaze. He was outside of the bar, away from the stage, in the light of the lobby. His build was actually fairly muscular for a rabbit. His blue suit and purple tie were without flaw, like a doll. His fur tone was an off-white shade, as if all color had just left him. His ears were droopy like he no longer cared for anything and his black gloved paws were holding a case.

The applauding of satisfied patrons broke the fox's gaze with the rabbit's cold glare. Max's performance had ended, and he turned his attention to bow for his audience. Nick turned back to where the Rabbit was standing, but he was gone. Vanished. "Hey, Nicky…you alright?" Mr. Big asked.

"I uh…" Nick trailed off for a moment. He wanted to believe that it was nothing. Just an angry look from a normal mammal that had had a grumpy day. But Nick had seen that kind of face before. That was no ordinary mammal finishing a bad day. That was the face of someone who could kill. The suit, the gloves, the case…the face.

"I gotta go. Don't wait up."

Nick got up, and took notice of Francine sitting next to Fangmire and Wolford. Out of all three of them, Francine was the only one who looked sober. "Francine." The fox whispered.

The elephant took notice of Nick. He waved her over, and she followed. "What is it, Nick?" She asked. "I need you with me. There's something we've gotta look into."

…

Thanks to the plastic fork that was brought with the food he was given, Benny was able to pick the lock to his cuffs. Still, though, the still startled puppy refused to leave the room. He didn't want to get that scary bunny lady mad again. She had yelled at him in a way that Mrs. Tusk must've been trying to yell at him like since he climbed that tree when he was four. No one had ever yelled at him like that before. No one except Adrian, and he was the only child who wasn't scared of him. Although he still didn't understand _why_ anyone would be scared of him; he was just a kid who didn't want to talk about his family. That wasn't rare for the orphanage. So why were they all so scared of him?

Thinking of his kitty companion, Benny stopped pacing, and looked at him. Adrian was now sleeping on a chair, out like a light, and not moving a muscle. He was so stiff; so still.

He almost looked like he was dead.

Benny went closer to him, picked him up, and placed him down on the floor. Benny had seen on TV how people put their ears to other's chests to hear their heartbeats. Benny put his ear on Adrian's chest to see if he could hear it. And he could. In fact, it was actually beating really fast. Not dead then.

Just then, the door unlocked, and then it opened. The lobby had gotten darker, and now all he could see was the shadowy shape of a mammal that was just a little bit taller than he was. He wasn't sure who it was since he couldn't see any rabbit ears, but still…the shape…

"J-Judy?" he asked with a nervous tone.

The figure was silent, but only for a moment. "No."

The voice was deep, and male. Not Judy. Thank goodness. The puppy wiped the nervous sweat from his brow, and watched the figure enter the light of the small room. He was a male rabbit with an almost white fur color, with droopy ears, cold eyes, a blue suit, and a suitcase.

"You okay, mister?" the puppy asked.

"Oh, you shouldn't worry about me." he said. Benny raised a brow. "Why? What do you mean?"

"Let's just say, you're wanted alive."

Benny darted his eyes around the room. Seeing the large case he brought with him, he had a feeling that this guy wasn't gonna play nice. He looked around for a weapon to defend himself with, but he didn't see anything he could use. The chairs were too heavy, and the only thing he could pick up off the table was the paper plate that had his table scraps, including that chocolate cake they gave him for dessert. The rabbit followed his gaze.

Without warning, Benny picked up the whole plate, and chucked it at the rabbit. He also made sure not to touch the chocolate with his bare paw; that would turn nasty. The cake hit the rabbit in the face, but he didn't flinch. He just let it fall off, and used a rag to wipe his face.

"Ironic isn't it? The only time you need to defend yourself, and they've taken away anything you could use for a weapon. It's almost like 'The Lamb who cried Wolf'." The rabbit approached the puppy slowly, and the puppy picked up Adrian and started to drag him away. He was still very, very stiff. "Yeah…they read us that one when I was five. It was about a little lamb that lied all the time about a wolf coming to their village. But after the wolf really _did_ come to the village, nobody believed him, and they all got eaten, starting with the lamb." Benny recited.

"And _that_ , dear boy, is a prime example of irony." The rabbit said.

Benny narrowed his eyes. This was getting too weird. "What do you want?" he asked, trying to sound scary. It didn't work.

"It's like I said earlier; I want you alive."

He placed down his briefcase. Then he kneeled down to open it. "And I always get my mammal."

He pulled out a pistol from the briefcase, and put on one of those silencer thingies that made it quieter. He pointed the weapon at Benny, and Benny quickly dragged Adrian under the table. Not the best hiding spot, but what else could he do?

"Now why not make this easy for yourself, and come quietly?"

Benny was honestly not getting scared from this. That Judy lady was way scarier than this guy, and she didn't need a gun to be scary. "Look, buddy. I've just been yelled at by my fake dad's partner, and I was told that I'm not allowed to leave the building. So lemme tell you something; back off!"

Benny had backed out from under the table, and was now on the other side of the room. The rabbit fired off a single silent shot, blowing a hole in the wall about two feet away. Benny heard the sound, and looked to the hole with a raised brow.

"Don't let the distance fool you, boy. I'm an excellent shot. That one was just a warning."

Benny got back under the table, and looked around for something…anything…that could help him. "The next one won't be a warning, so last chance: come out from under the table, and come with me."

As soon as he finished speaking, Benny saw them; the same handcuffs that were binding him mere hours ago. That would be able to help him. "Uh…okay…okay!"

Benny placed Adrian on the floor, and picked them up as quietly as he could. "I'll come out."

The puppy put the cuffs on his belt, and slowly crept out without the kitten. "Hm…maybe you can be reasonable, after all…"

Without holstering the weapon, the rabbit extended his free hand for Benny to take. Fast as lightning, Benny slapped the cuff on his attacker, and quickly attached the other cuff to the table leg. At the same time, he snatched the gun from the rabbit.

"I'm smart, too." He said with a grin.

Pistol in paw, Benny ran out of the room. Adrian would be safe under the table, where the rabbit couldn't reach, and with the rabbit cuffed to the table leg, he wouldn't be able to escape.

"Later!"

Benny bolted out of the room, and looked around. He needed to find someone he could give the gun to. Not that he minded holding it; it was really cool to hold a gun. But what would that angry bunny lady think?

"Scoots?"

Hopefully, now he wouldn't have to worry because he had just run into his new fake father, who was standing alongside an elephant. She only looked a little different from Mrs. Tusk. Just a little younger.

"Fake dad! Thank goodness, I need you to come with me." He said. "Hey uh, you seen a rabbit with a briefcase walking by, buddy?" The fox asked. "We think he might be dangerous.

"I did more than see him. He almost shot me!" Benny held up the gun, and let Nickolas take it. "Now come on, he's just over here!"

Benny led the way as he dashed back to the room. Nick, and the elephant followed close behind as Nick realized what he was saying. "Hang on. This guy fired a shot at you?!"

The puppy got to the door, and slowly turned it. "Don't worry. I handcuffed him to the…"

The door was opened, but no one was there. The rabbit was gone, Adrian was gone with him, and the handcuffs he had just used were still stuck to the table leg.

"…table?"

…

"All units report in, we have a 207 in progress. Adrian Rory is missing, I repeat; Adrian Rory has been catnapped."

The wolf officer he almost blew up turned off his walkie and went over to some of the other cops. They nodded to each other, and went outside the hotel. They got into their cars, and sped away while startled patrons talked among themselves. Benny Collins sat by himself outside of the room he was just confined to half an hour ago, looking at how the rabbit may have escaped. However he got out of the cuff was a mystery he wasn't able to solve, but he did see where he was able to flee in such a short time. The room he was left in was next to two connected hallways. One of them led to the bathroom, while the other led to the back entrance. And since the back entrance was deserted, that was where he had left. It was something the little collie had done plenty of times before while escaping people's houses.

"Hey, c'mon Carrots. C'mon. We need to get you back home."

Benny looked to his right to see Officer Wilde carrying a sleeping Hopps to their car. While he did this, the big stupid buffalo walked right in front of him, holding his walkie. "…and officers Delgato, Wolford, and Fangmire; sweep Sahara Square; look everywhere until you find them."

He turned his walkie off, and looked down at the puppy; he snorted angrily like all buffalos did when they were mad.

"Well, I hope you're proud of yourself, Mr. Collins; cause thanks to you, your better half is out there with a killer, and we have no idea who he is or where to find him."

The puppy looked down with a frown as he fiddled with his paws. The buffalo kneeled down to try and look at him, but the puppy looked away."

"Hey." He started.

"Go away." Benny replied.

 ***SNAP***

Bogo snapped his hooved fingers, and brought Benny to attention.

"Believe me Collins, puppysitting you is the last thing I want to do right now, and fortunately, I don't have to do it. Mr. Finnick is still your guardian for the night, and as soon as he comes for you, you will go with him back to his place, you will stay there until morning, and you will. Not. Do. Anything. Like this. Again."

Every time he paused, he got closer and closer to Benny's face, not breaking eye contact for even a second.

"Are we clear with each other?"

The puppy looked away again for the briefest moment, but then he looked at the chief and nodded his head.

"Good."

The Cape buffalo got up, and hurried out the door, turning his walkie back on to talk to someone else. Now Benny was alone with his thoughts, and right now, only one filled his mind: it was his fault.

Everything Bogo said was right. Everything that happened tonight was his fault. He was the one who stole the van. He put a bunch of mammals in danger because he wanted to take a joyride, and now because of what he did, Adrian was missing. It was true that he had no love for the sour kitten, but he was still missing because of Benny. He had spent so long marveling the fact that he was untouchable that he forgot about everyone else around him.

Adrian was missing because of him. It was his fault, and because of that, it was his mess to fix. He knew that no matter what the cops, Nick, or even Judy said to him; he had to be the one to fix this. He wasn't gonna wait for Finnick, he wasn't gonna go back to that smelly apartment, and he sure as heck wasn't gonna wait for someone to say that everything was fine.

He got up out of his chair, looked to the exit the rabbit took, and without a second thought, sped off into the night.

…

In times of confusion, the best course of action is to find answers. But sometimes, answers may lead to more questions.


	10. Chapter 9: More Questions

The air of Sahara Square was always hot and humid, and for a mammal with fur, it wasn't any easier to bear. So when the eight-year-old puppy Benny Collins removed all but the grey undershirt he wore when he left the orphanage that night, his breathing was suddenly a little easier; but just barely.

The nighttime air was cooler, but in the desert area of Zootopia, it was still too humid for anything more than his undershirt, especially since he was walking on foot. But despite that the puppy didn't care, he had too much on his mind to care about it. Someone had tried to attack him earlier tonight, they shot at him to try and scare him, and when they couldn't get him, they took Adrian instead.

Benny looked down to his feet as he stomped down the sidewalk. What he thought would be another fun night getting into trouble and then be put off to bed early, only to break out of confinement and do it all again ended horribly. As it turned out, life outside of the orphanage was nothing like living inside of it.

For starters, the mammals weren't just some other group of shop owners, or a mammalger too nervous to do their job; they were serious, and they didn't care if he was just a kid. And while Benny could take a scraping here and there, _they_ didn't even give him a chance to pick himself up, they just tased him, and suddenly, that was it. Then there were the ones who _really_ made him stop his fun. The way they yelled at him, the way they made him see it their way, it was _nothing_ like Mrs. Tusk. It was in a way that forced him to stop no matter how much he didn't want to.

And if all of that wasn't bad enough, then there was the rabbit; not Judy, but _The Rabbit_. He came into that room, he brought that gun with him, and then he took Adrian, and he didn't leave any sort of trace, other than the way he ran. Benny had no idea where he might've gone, but that didn't mean that hope was lost. He had a hunch that he knew where to go, and he had a feeling that someone he knew would have some answers, or at least lead him to someone else who did. All he had to do was get there.

*HONK*

*HONK*

Benny stopped dead in his tracks, and he looked to his right. Finnick was there, sitting in his van, and staring right at him.

"You really are bad at listening, aren't ya, kid?"

Benny turned to face him, and he watched the fennec take a puff of the cigarette in his mouth.

"They say those things can kill you." He said.

*Pfffff*

Finnick took another puff and blew the smoke from his muzzle as he threw the butt on the street.

"Well, if Im'ma die anyways, I may as well choose my own poison." He replied.

Then he looked to the puppy and unlocked his doors.

"Time to go, Benny." He said.

"I can't. Not yet." The puppy replied.

"You don't really have a whole lotta choice, kid." Finnick started. "That other kid is missing because of you, and you're still in danger yourself."

"I don't care!" Benny shouted, stomping his foot. "It's like you said, it's _my_ fault he's missing! That's why I can't go back yet! I have to try and save him!"

Finnick raised a brow. "What, so now you care all the sudden?"

He turned off the engine and got out of the van. He jumped out of the driver's seat and landed next to the puppy.

"Look, even if you _did_ manage to find him, how are _you_ gonna save him? He shot at you with a _real_ gun. You understand how that works?"

Benny looked away while Finnick talked. "If this guy wanted to, he'd have _killed_ you tonight."

"Don't you get it, Finnick? The orphanage didn't just sink!" Benny snapped. "It was _taken_!"

Finnick stopped talking.

"When we got inside that day, all the others were gone! Someone…or some _thing_ …came inside, and took everyone! That rabbit who came to take me was one of them! He _had_ to be!"

Benny got out of the older canine's face and looked out into the city lights.

"Even if you're right, even if I can't save him, I still need to get answers. I still need to find out who he is."

The puppy turned around.

"And I've got a feeling that the guy I'm going to knows how to find him."

Finnick walked up next to the puppy and narrowed his eyes.

"Even if you're right, it's still too dangerous for an eight-year-old boy. Even _if_ you're a grade A certified maniac."

He turned to face the puppy.

"You should let the police find Adrian. That's what they train for. They go out to find missing mammals, stop criminals from stealing, and put those criminals behind bars."

He grabbed the puppy by the shoulder and started to lead him to the van.

"Now normally, I couldn't care less about the fuzz; had it out for them for most of my life. But that's different now. Now I have friends in the police, friends who trust me to keep you safe until tomorrow."

They both got into the van.

"And because I'm their friend, and because they trust me, I'm gonna do just that."

And with that, Finnick started his van, and fastened his seatbelt. Benny looked at the aged fennec fox, and then looked down to his sandy, dirty feet.

"So…who was it you were gonna see?"

Benny looked up, and then back to Finnick. At first, he wasn't sure if he heard him right, and he opened his mouth to ask if he did. But then he stopped, and shifted his gaze to a more serious one.

"The owner of this underground store in Savanna Central; a monkey named Reggie."

…

"Officers Fangmire, Grizolli, and Wolford, continue your sweep through Sahara Square."

"Officers Snarlof, Swinton, and Andersen, double your search in Tundra Town."

"Officers Higgins, McHorn, and Trunkaby, get started with the Rainforest District."

The cape buffalo looked down to the fox as he got in his police car, and spoke back into his radio.

"Officers Pennington, Johnson, and Rhinowitz, do another check on Savannah Central."

He turned off his radio, and leaned down to speak to Wilde face to face.

"Wilde, I'm gonna need you to back up Pennington and the others at Savannah Central as soon as Hopps is brought home." He said.

"Yes, sir." Wilde said quietly.

He made sure that Hopps was fastened in her seat, and then he drove off to her apartment complex. Under normal circumstances, he'd be cracking a smile and saying something witty to his commanding officer, but these were not normal circumstances. The missing child aside, Nick had had a run in with one of the mammals who almost ruined his life forever; and even worse, he talked about it with him like it was nothing more than a harmless little play date.

Not even two minutes after that happened; the young boy he adopted stole his best friend's van and almost killed God knows how many mammals. Then, just when he thought that the nighttime drama was over, he came back to his side with a gun in his paws and told him that some rabbit shot at him. But by the time they got to the room he was in, he was gone…with the boy that Judy had adopted.

It was, without question, a night of unfortunate circumstances, one after another, and with the sun nowhere in sight for another seven hours, it was far from over.

"Quite a night of ringing endorsement, eh Carrots?" he said absentmindedly to his sleeping partner.

Officer Hopps was out like a light at the moment, which was why he was driving her home. The unfortunate incident with Benny caused her to drown herself in alcohol to try and wash away the stress. Unfortunately, her competition with that one patron caused her to go overboard, and now she was so wasted she couldn't even stay awake.

That was just how it was going to be tonight however, and there wasn't anything he could do about it. With that in mind, he pulled up to the parking lot where Judy's apartment was, and got out of the car. He went to the other seat, lifted Judy out of the passenger seat, and carried her inside.

The walk in was just as normal as every other time he went in; silent, except for the antelope brothers screaming at each other again.

"You Shut Up!"

"You Shut Up!"

"You Shut Up!"

"You Shut Up!"

"You Shut Up!"

"You Shut Up!"

"You Shut Up!"

"You Shut Up!"

*Sigh*

Nick sighed to himself as he opened the door with Judy's key. Had it not been for her usual optimistic behavior, Judy would probably be going crazy at this point, and Nick wouldn't blame her. He placed Judy down on the bed, only removing her utility belt and Kevlar vest to make her more comfortable as she slept, and tucked her into bed. He placed the key on her desk, left her other things near the chair, and made sure the door was locked.

"Nighty night, Carrots." He said silently. "See you in the morning, probably."

He closed the door, and began to make his way to the exit.

"Actually, probably not, Wilde!" Pronk said from inside those paper thin walls. "She usually sleeps in until eleven when she drinks!"

…

At this time of night, Savannah Central was pretty quiet. Benny Collins knew this better than anyone since it was after all where he grew up. Finnick parked the van outside the entrance to the store, and Benny jumped out of his seat and onto the street.

"Last time I saw Reggie, he was a pretty cool guy." Benny said. "We shouldn't have too much to worry about."

He began to make his way to the staircase, but Finnick grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Remember how you bought a fireworks rocket, and blew up a police car?" he asked.

"Well…yeah…but _that_ wasn't _my_ fault. Adrian tried to take it!" the puppy said in defense.

"I have serious doubts he'll see it that way." Finnick stated. "Now, you may know Reggie from a business deal you had, but I actually know him by trade. We go back a couple of years, so it'll probably be better if _I_ talk to him.

Finnick went in front of Benny, and began his decent down the staircase to his shop. Last time Benny was down there, he was wearing at least two layers of clothing, along with his backpack. He wasn't aware that it was going to be so cold without his shirt unfortunately, and as soon as the store's cold air hit him, his spine tingled.

"Reggie!" Finnick called out as they walked past the various shelves of smuggled goods. "Yo, Reggie! Where you at, monkey!"

The two canines could hear the sound of some rustling in the back room. "Fin-Finnick? Finnick, is that you, brother!?" a voice shouted.

Sure enough, the chimpanzee came swinging in through the metal pipes lining the ceiling, dressed in his grey flannel and blue and green cap. He took notice of the fennec standing in the light.

"Finnick!" he stated happily as he landed next to the aged fox. "To what do I owe this…?"

Then he spotted the puppy.

"WHAT IN THE GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY IS _HE_ DOING HERE?!"

The cap wearing chimp jumped up into the air and used his feet to grasp onto the ceiling pipes.

"GET THAT MANIAC OUTTA HERE BEFORE HE BLOWS UP SOMETHING _ELSE_ WITH MY PRODUCTS!"

Finnick stepped up and held out his paws in defense.

"Reggie…calm down, brother…the pup's with _me_."

"With _you_?! Finnick, you have any idea how much damage that boy did with my rocket?!"

He let himself fall off the pipe and back down to the floor. Benny meanwhile, walked off towards one of the shelves.

"Look, Reg, I know that seeing him here's gonna get you spooked. But we really need your help right now."

Reggie settled down a little, and put folded his long arms.

"Oh yeah? For what?"

"We need you to call up some of your contacts. That other kid that survived the sinking with the pup? He got catnapped a couple hours ago, and the pup thinks that the catnapper has something to do with the orphanage sinking."

Reggie looked surprised. "Wait, what?"

Behind them, Benny went to another shelf.

"I'm pretty sure that they're trying to keep this stuff secret; but he said that the orphanage was empty when it sank. And if he's telling the truth, then that means that there may be more to this whole thing than everyone thought."

Behind them, Benny found what he was looking for, and took some off the shelves.

"You have connections that go all the way to Mr. Big, Reggie. It's how you get so much good stuff for your store."

"So what are you trying to say, Finnick?" Reggie asked, arms still folded.

"We need to meet some of them, see if we can't get some help on figuring out who the catnapper is."

The chimp removed his hat, and wiped his forehead with his forearm. He walked around the room for a minute, wrapping his head on what he had been told.

The aged fennec took a look behind him, and saw that the little puppy had disappeared. With a raised brow, he walked towards the shelves, and found him looking through a bunch of old clothes. Already, he was wearing a black Henley and a new pair of blue jeans that were his size; and right now he was sniffing an old green jacket. He winced at the apparent stench, and threw it on the floor with a small pile he made. He picked up another one, a dark brown suede jacket, and took a wiff.

"Eh."

He shrugged, and put it on.

"Collins, what're you doing?"

Benny's ears twitched and he turned to face Finnick.

"I'm cold." He said plainly.

"Alright, Fin." Reggie said from nearby.

Both Finnick and Benny heard him, and walked over to greet the chimp.

"I'll take you to some people, but you gotta make sure he won't do anything stupid!"

"Don't worry, Reg. I have my eye on him." Finnick assured.

"Yeah? Well…okay."

He looked to the puppy, checking himself out in a mirror with the clothing he was wearing.

"I'm holding you to that Finnick. Don't let him outta your sight!"

"So where we going?" the fennec asked.

"Tundra Town. Mr. Big's right paw, Koslov, owns a restaurant business there. He and his people should be able to help." The chimp answered.

"Hey, if we're going to Tundra Town, does that mean I can keep this stuff?" the puppy asked.

The adults looked at the boy, and then back to each other.

"Usual price for a jacket, pants and shirt is around $40. But for you, Fin? About…$20, plus tax."

…

Cold. It was cold. Why was it cold? Where did he go for it to get cold? It didn't feel cold outside, so it probably meant that he was just cold.

Cold. Black. Empty. Void. No feeling. No sound. No light. No life.

Just him. Just him, alone in the, empty, lifeless cold.

He remembered though. He remembered all of it. He remembered what had happened that day.

…

He was back. He was home. He was in his room, playing on his computer. Mom and dad weren't there, they were on their business trip, which meant that he had the whole upstairs to himself. The cubsitter was on the phone, and she wouldn't come upstairs. Now it was just him, and that brand new frog hop computer game; the one where he could make the frog jump across the logs and to the other side of the river. And nothing could bother him.

 _"Adrian?"_

Well, almost nothing.

 _"Adrian?"_

Just keep playing. Just keep playing, and maybe she'll go away.

 _"ADRIAN!"_

"Ugh…WHAT!?"

He turned around, but no one was there.

"Uh…hello?"

No one. Nothing. No sound. No life.

"Ugh…whatever…"

He turned around, but everything was gone; melted away into nothing, it was all fading into nothing, and all that was left was the cold.

"Hey…HEY! HEY, WAIT A MINUTE!"

He remembered. He remembered what happened next. He needed to stop it, but he couldn't. Everything was just so cold.

 _"Adrian…?"_ she called out, far but still hearable.

"WAIT! DON'T DO IT! LET ME COME DOWN!" he shouted, trying to swim to the source of the sound.

 _"Adrian…?"_ she wined; he could hear her little voice fading away.

"DON'T DO IT! DON'T GO! PLEASE!"

 _"Adrian…? I wanna have an ice cream bar…!"_

Cold. So cold.

…

Awake. He was awake. Adrian Rory was awake, and it was all over. It was just a nightmare, and it was over now. Only it wasn't just a nightmare; it was also a reminder. A reminder of why he had to leave. A reminder of why he wasn't there when they died. A reminder of why he couldn't say goodbye to any of them; and now, he was alone. He was alone, and he was stuck in this place, and he could never go back. Not ever again.

His heart was still pounding in his chest, and he remembered what had happened. Benny stole Finnick's van, and he went on a joyride. He tried to stop him, but he was too late to get in when he sped away. All he could do was hang on; hang on for dear life and hope for the best.

Then Finnick opened the door he was clutching and everything went black.

"Mmmmmph…"

But where was he now?

The Russian blue kitten slowly sat up, joints as stiff as cardboard, and looked around. He was in a car, the backseat of a car, and he was all fastened in. The whole place reeked of cough medicine, and the air was freezing cold.

Something was wrong.

Adrian looked to the driver's seat, and saw that a small mammal was driving. He couldn't see who it was, but he didn't seem to be much taller than he was. Then, they passed a streetlight, and Adrian was able to make out the shape of the mammal's folded down rabbit ears.

"Judy?"

The rabbit turned around, and his icy cold blue eyes made direct contact with Adrian's Peridot green iris'.

"Ah, you're awake."

The kitten narrowed his eyes.

"Not Judy."

"No."

Adrian looked out the window, and saw that they were in Tundra Town, passing a car that zoomed by in the artificially cold environment.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see when we arrive."

They passed another car, and made a right turn. Then they passed what looked like Finnick's van. In fact, they _had_ just passed Finnick's van. They took a right turn themselves, and Adrian immediately felt a pit well up in his stomach. He was on his own, and now he knew it for a fact.

Then, as quick as the pit came, it just disappeared.

"You know about the orphanage, don't you?"

"The entire orphanage faculty and the children they were watching over were all supposed to be present when we came in. You and your friend escaping was an oversight that I had been sent to correct."

His tone was cold, calculated, on the topic, and had little to no trace of emotion.

"And just so we're clear…"

He reached down into his glove box, and opened it to reveal a revolver.

"…you try anything, and I won't think twice."

The gun was real, and the rabbit's threat was real. Adrian knew that if he attempted to do something he'd be in for the fight of his life. But despite that, despite the knowledge that he was in for more than he'd care to admit…he didn't feel anything.

His mind felt numb. His feelings and his fears felt like they had been buried deep down in his heart, and it felt as though they'd never come back out.

"Rabbit…" he started, looking at his catnapper as he continued to eye the road.

"…I am gonna try _everything_."

…

The ride to the restaurant was pretty decent, all things considered. Only three cars passed them by, and that included one of the police cars running all over the city. The restaurant they stopped at looked pretty cool, to tell the truth. The restaurant looked like a giant igloo made to be an apartment, and the front entrance had a big sign that read: Koslov's Palace. The front entrance had railings leading to the door, and the door itself was an engraved wood with golden knobs.

"Thanks for letting me ride shotgun, Fin." Benny said as they stopped.

"Yeah, well…I did promise Reggie I'd keep my eye on you, so…yeah."

In the back of the van, the chimpanzee, hanging on the van's ceiling, nodded in approval.

"Now remember, you're gonna want _me_ to do all the introductions. Don't say anything until I give the all-clear, ok fellas?"

The canines nodded in understanding, and they all got out of the van. Whether or not the snow was real, it was still cold enough to not make a difference. Benny buttoned up his new jacket, and folded up the collar to keep himself warm. He put his paws in his pockets, and stuck close to the fennec.

Reggie got to the door first, and knocked on it three times.

*Thump*

*Thump*

*Thump*

The door creaked open, and in the entrance, a large polar bear with a suit stood at the entrance.

"Hey Raymond; how's it been, brother?" Reggie greeted, giving the bear a fist bump.

"It's been okay, Reg. You need to talk to the boss 'bout somethin'?" Raymond replied.

"Actually, yes. It's about that orphanage case."

Reggie pointed to the puppy.

"Something came up, and the pup thinks that Kos can give us a paw."

Raymond held up a paw.

"Don't gotta explain, Reg. Both Kos and Big already know; they were attending when it happened."

"No kidding…they here now?"

"Yeah, actually. Just got in with Fru Fru a few minutes ago; Fru Fru's gone home for the night, but Big and Koslov are still here."

The large polar bear moved aside and let the three enter. He shot a glance at the puppy however, and started walking alongside him.

"Just keep the pup on a leash. We've had problems with him in the past."

The puppy couldn't help but snicker.

"Pfffft…sorry, it's just…can you remind me what I did when I came here?"

"You duct taped the floors and stole a bunch of our desserts." Raymond replied. "Took forever to get that stuff out off, and we had to get new carpets."

"Oh…right." Benny said, thinking back. "Yeah, that one was a while ago."

"How many times have you gone out for the sole purpose of senseless vandalism?" Finnick asked.

"Dude, I go out to steal stuff every other day. It's not a big deal." He said in defense.

"You can say that to the boss, squirt," Raymond said. "Because we're here."

The polar bear got in front of the chimpanzee, and opened the large door in front of them. It greatly resembled the one outside, from its engravings to the color of the knobs. Inside, Koslov stood at the manager's counter going over some papers, while Mr. Big himself was sitting close by, sipping some tea with some other guards close by.

The massive, silent polar bear was unmoved at their arrival, but as soon as he put down his papers, he looked directly into the eyes of the small puppy, and stood up in anger.

"Koslov…buddy…hang on a sec…" Reggie started.

But the silent giant didn't hang on. He got out from behind his desk, and started to approach the puppy.

"Hold on a minute, Koslov." The high pitched, aged voice of Mr. Big said. "He's in the company of trusted friends."

The polar bear looked back to his boss, and then to the puppy again.

"Hmph…"

With an unhappy grunt, he went back over to his desk, and sat back down, looking away.

"You must excuse my right paw. Mr. Collins' duct tape theatrics have left him without much of his fur on more than one occasion." The aged shrew explained as he took a sip from his cup.

"Reginald." He exclaimed in a brighter tone as he greeted the chimpanzee. He removed his cap, and they kissed cheeks.

"I knew that you were on good terms with each other, but I didn't know you were like family." Finnick commented.

"Yes, well…Reggie never ceases to make good on his debts. His business, whether it be good or bad, always manages to donate to me 20% of his profits as payment for protection against the more…official of authorities."

Big put his cup down. "Now then; Reggie, Finnick, care to explain what you're doing with this…"

He looked at the puppy as he tried to find the proper word.

"…juvenile delinquent?"

Reggie held his cap in his hands.

"Well, you know how Adrian Rory was kidnapped earlier tonight?" Finnick asked.

"I know. As my bouncer may have implied, I was there when the news first hit."

"Well, Benny here saw the one who took him, and he thinks you may know who he is, and why he took him."

The puppy stepped up, and approached the aged shrew, unbuttoning his new jacket.

"So…you come here, to my right hand's business…a business that you have insulted on multiple occasions…"

He took his cup, and refilled it.

"…you steal, you defile, and you humiliate dozens of my loyal employees with a smile, all for a laugh…"

Koslov's fists clenched and he growled.

"…and now you expect me to provide you some assistance?"

The two locked eyes for the briefest moment; all other eyes on the two of them.

"Yup."

Koslov stood up; ready to throw the puppy out, when Mr. Big spoke.

"Ok, then."

Shocked at his words, Koslov glared at him in silence, before slowly sitting back down. Finnick and Reggie looked at each other as the shrew took a sip from his cup.

"I will provide you what information I know; but in exchange, you will owe me a favor."

The puppy put his paws back in his pockets.

"Sure. What do ya want?"

"Nothing right now." Mr. Big replied. "When the time is right, I will send someone to come for you, and you will provide your services for something that matches your talents."

He placed his cup down, and slowly rose from his tiny chair. He got to his feet, and walked towards the puppy, extending his paw to imply Benny pick him up. Confused, he looked to the others.

"You're supposed to pick him up." Finnick said.

"Oh."

The puppy did so, and let the shrew stand on his paw.

"Now that we are face to face, young Mr. Collins, tell me; who was it that came for you and Mr. Rory tonight?"

"A rabbit. He had a blue suit, and his ears were droopy. He shot at me with a gun, and he tried to get me to come with him. I was able to get the gun and get out of there, but when I came back with fake dad, he was gone…"

Benny looked away for a moment. "…and he took Adrian with him."

"Hmm…"

Mr. Big began to pace around Benny's paw, holding his hand to his chin as the thought over Benny's words.

"This…rabbit, Mr. Collins…" he started. "…you said that he had droopy ears?"

"Yeah. Why? You know him?"

"I might. But I may need some more details from you before I'm sure. Describe his appearance a little more. And also, tell me what he was like; as a mammal. Who was this rabbit on the inside?"

…

Whoever this rabbit was, he was certainly easy to get the drop on. Adrian sprang for the steering wheel, and as soon as he forced one of his paws to let go, he found himself wrestling with his catnapper for control of the car. They fought for the steering wheel, and Adrian looked directly into the eyes of the rabbit. His gaze, dark and cold, did well to complement their icy blue color. His coat of fur was a very light grey, almost an off white shade, and his expression was that of pure hate.

But then again, so was the kitten's. "GIVE…"

He elbowed the rabbit in the nose.

"ME…"

He elbowed him again; this time, Adrian got a little more of the wheel.

"THE…"

This time, a shoulder hit. The kitten and rabbit found themselves drifting more to the left.

"WHEEL!"

*WHACK*

"AARGH!"

Adrian finally had enough and punch his assailant in the face as hard as he possibly could, hitting him in the eye and finally giving him control of the car. But it was too late. Up in front of them, at a dashing speed, a light pole was coming up to greet them, for they were driving halfway on the sidewalk now.

"Oh, CRUD!"

Adrian, knowing that it was too late to stop the car or swerve out of the way, used the last of his time to let go of the wheel and duck under the seat, holding his head to shield himself from the inevitable collision.

 ***TTTTUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHH***

…

"Mr. Collins, I do very well believe you've had a run in with a mammal they like to call: The off white rabbit." Mr. Big exclaimed.

The guards looked amongst themselves in worry.

"Then you know who he is?" Benny asked, his ears raising.

"Only by reputation, and not in the good way, I'm afraid."

…

As quick as it began, it was over.

"GUH! Huh…huh…huh…huh…"

Adrian was breathing heavily as he got out from under the seat. He crawled back into the driver's seat, and saw that the rabbit was knocked out, his head hit against the steering wheel while the airbag covered the rest of his face.

"Huh…huh…huh…"

Adrian tried to open the driver's door, but it wouldn't budge. They had hit the pole so hard, the door was now jammed in place.

The kitten looked around, and saw an assortment of objects littering the passenger's seat. The contents of the glove box were sprayed all over it. Among the objects was the revolver that the rabbit used to threaten his life, a pawful of bullets to load the revolver with, some sort of small metal box with lock on it, and a red neckerchief.

He looked at the neckerchief, and picked it up. If Adrian had to guess, it was to hide his face if he needed to rob people or something like that.

"Mmmmmnnnn…"

Adrian looked behind him, and saw the rabbit stir. He scrambled to the passenger door, and tried to see if it would open; no such luck.

"Crud…" he said to himself.

Lying on his stomach, he looked down to see that he was now lying on top of the revolver. He then looked to the windshield, and saw that it was already cracked. Adrian grit his teeth, wrapped the neckerchief around his hand, and picked up the gun.

"I am NOT going to put up with this!" he declared in anger.

He picked up the bullets, one by one, and slowly but surely place them in the chamber.

"I've had to climb buildings…"

*tk*

One bullet in.

"…swing from trees…"

*tk*

Two bullets.

"…jump from cars…"

*tk*

Three.

"…stop a ROBBERY for god's sake…"

*tk*

Four.

"…and you have the nerve to say that I can't do anything about you putting me in your car…"

*tk*

Five.

"…because you have a GUN!?"

*tk*

Six.

"YOU… **SUCK!** "

 ***PAW***

*click*

 ***PAW***

*click*

Outside, he could hear screams erupt from the sound of the gunshots. The kitten looked to his paw, wrapped with the neckerchief, and he climbed up to the dashboard, and he readied his fist.

*BSSSHHHH*

The glass had almost given in.

 ***PLAAAAAASSSSSSSSHHHHH***

Another punch, and this time, the glass shattered. With heavy breaths, Adrian climbed out the broken windshield, and slid off the car onto the artificial snow. He landed on his paws and knees, his left paw still wrapped in the neckerchief while his right paw still clutched the gun. His ears were ringing from all the loud noises happening at once, and by now, the only thing he could hear just fine was his heavy breathing.

"You little runt!" a small voice said from behind.

*tink*

A throwing knife landed close to his left paw, and Adrian turned around to see that the rabbit was awake, and holding the now opened metal box in his paw. The rabbit just threw a knife at him.

Fast as lightning, Adrian's anger returned, and he rolled on his back, and aimed the gun at the rabbit's head. At this, the rabbit's own angered stare turned to shock.

"Huh!?"

*BAM*

Despite his ears wringing, he could still hear the sound of the gun being fired, and at this point, the gun's recoil was making his wrist hurt.

"GhaaaaaaAAAAA **AAHHHHH!"**

As he felt his wrist, his hearing returned completely, and the screaming of the rabbit became much easier to hear. He looked to him, and saw that he was clutching a newly made hole in his right ear, and in the heat of his pain, he gripped the window, and…

 ***BAAASSSSHHHH***

Headbutted the glass so hard it shattered.

As the rabbit climbed out, Adrian raised the gun.

" _YOU_! _YOU_ DID THIS!"

 ***BANG***

Missed.

" _YOU_ DID THIS TO ME!"

 ***BANG***

Missed again.

"THIS IS **ALL** ** _YOUR_** **FAULT!** "

 ***BANG***

 ***BANG***

*Click*

*Click*

Adrian looked at the gun, and realized that it was now empty.

He watched as the rabbit, unscathed other than the hole in his ear, climbed out of the car, and scrambled away.

*Click*

*Click*

*Click*

Despite Adrian squeezing the trigger, nothing else happened. The rabbit took one last look at the infuriated kitten, before returning to his purely hateful gaze, and this time, all that hate was directed entirely at the ten year old kitten.

"This…is _not_ …over."

And with that, he was gone, leaving Adrian alone, in the empty snowy street.

"Huff…huff…huff…huff…"

The kitten slowly rose to his feet, and looked to the alleyway that the rabbit disappeared to.

"Huff, huff, huff, huff…"

His breathing continued to get faster, and his anger continued to grow higher. He squeezed the gun so hard; it shook uncontrollably in his hand

"Huff huff huff huff huff huff…"

Eventually, it became too much to bear, and with rounded breath, he threw down the gun, and let all his anger out into one final scream:

 **"RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWW!"**

At least, he thought it would be all of it; but there was just so much bottled up inside, he hardly had anything to do it with. So he began to take it out on the car, punching the already damaged metal with his protected paw until there was no more breath in his lungs, forcing him to sit down in the snow, huffing and puffing heavily as the gun lay several feet from him.

The boy remembered; he remembered all of it. He remembered how she needed his help, even if it was for something as unimportant as an ice cream bar. Still though, she needed him, and he wasn't there. And he had no one to blame but himself. And that truth, that cold, hard, unforgiving truth, as cold as the snow, as hard as the street he sat on now, and as unforgiving as that evil rabbit, all made him so…so…ANGRY.

 ***Whe-ew***

 ***Whe-ew***

 ***Whe-ew***

 ***Whe-ew***

Adrian looked up, and saw a squad car stopping in front of him. Three cops got out of it, and pointed their guns at him.

"FREEZE!" one of them commanded, a female by the sound of it.

Adrian didn't do this; he was too tired to do anything right now, evidenced by his heavy breathing.

The one who spoke lowered her weapon, and walked towards him. "Stand down, boys. It's Rory."

As she got closer, Adrian could recognize her shape. She was a pig. She had blonde hair under her hat, and she had lime green eyes.

"Swinton to Bogo, come in. Reporting in from Tundra Town: We found him. I repeat: We found him. Adrian Rory is secured."

"That's affirmative Swinton." Bogo's voice could be heard on the other end. "Bring him home."

"Roger that." Swinton replied. "Over and out."

She turned off her radio, and kneeled down to greet the kitten.

"You okay there, kiddo?"

"Huff…huff..huff…huff"

Adrian continued to breathe heavily, looking at the gun, and then to the pig.

"Y…yes…yes, I'm…I'm okay…"

He looked at the other two cops, polar bears by the look of it, for any sign of his stepmom. They approached him, and he continued to look, but no sign of her.

"So…where's Hopps?" Adrian asked.

"Well, she had about as good a day as you did, putting up with your lesser half, so…sleeping."

Adrian silently nodded; he understood completely.

"Come on, kiddo." She picked him up, and started to carry him back to the car. "We'll just have to ask you some questions back at the station, make sure you're not hurt, and then you're going home, where it's safe."

As they got to the car, Adrian looked at the alleyway one last time. He had no idea who that guy was, or why he catnapped him. All he knew was that he wanted him for a reason, and that there was definitely more to the orphanage vanishing than he first thought.

…

"The off-white rabbit is a bounty hunter; one who specializes in kidnapping." Mr. Big explained.

"Is he any good at it?" Benny asked.

"Well, no cop has ever caught him, and he knows how to get away from a tight spot in more ways than one. So yes, he's good at it."

"And the orphanage was empty when we got there…" Benny started.

"…which means that your newest friend may very well be in on it." Mr. Big finished. "Whatever the case, he came to that fundraiser for you and Adrian _specifically_ ; which means that someone else hired him to get you."

"Someone else?"

"The way it works, Mr. Collins, is that there's a contractor, and a hired paw who takes the contract. The contractor would have to have a serious amount of money if they'd be able to hire someone of the off-white's level of services. There could be an entire network right underneath us, and we don't even know it."

Benny looked away again, worried for what may have happened to Adrian. If he was still in danger…

*Vrrr-Vrrr*

The puppy turned around.

*Vrrr-Vrrr*

It was coming from Finnick; he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

"Yeah?"

All eyes turned to the fennec as he listened to whoever was on the other end. No one knew who it was, but there was a feeling in the air, and everyone could sense it. Something had just come up, and Adrian was the main subject. But was it good news? What if it wasn't?

"Ok. Ok, got it. Kay thanks Nick. Yup. Yeah, see ya. I'll drop him off."

*Beep*

He pocketed his phone, and Mr. Big nudged Benny's paw, beckoning him to take him to Finnick. Benny did as such, and let Finnick take him.

"Well? What did Nicky have to say?" he asked.

"Good news, actually." Finnick replied. "They found Adrian; pulled him out of a car crash. He's ok, but the rabbit's taken off. There were also some shots fired, but Adrian isn't sayin' anything about it. Says he's just giving 'em this real dark stare."

"Obviously, he's shaken by everything that's happened." Mr. Big replied.

 ***Snap***

He snapped his fingers, and Koslov got up. He came to Finnick, and retrieved his boss.

"Go. Tell the police what I've told you tonight. I have a bad feeling that you will need the information for the days to come."

"We will. Thanks, Big." Finnick said.

Finnick grabbed Benny, and started to leave him to the door as Reggie followed close behind.

"I will say this as well." The shrew added.

The three turned around.

"Whoever is behind all of this is more than likely to have more agents at play. No doubt that the off-white rabbit is the most obvious, but there are bound to be more lurking in the shadows; watching, waiting, surveying everything you are doing. I know this because it is what I would do if I were after something I wanted, and whoever is doing all of this wants _you_ , Mr. Collins." He explained. "Be careful as you maneuver through this investigation, and keep the people you trust close by; they may be the only people you will have until all of this is over."

No one answered; they just continued to the door.

"And Mr. Collins?"

Benny turned around.

"Remember: I will send for you."

The two locked eyes for a moment, neither one looking away as the room got silent. Eventually, Finnick nudged the boy to come with him, and he did.

The three left the office, and made their way to the front door. Now that the crisis was over, they actually bothered to look around. The furnishings were mostly round, and the tables lined up across the room all housed four chairs each. The tables each had a pair of salt and pepper shakers, with a number in between each shaker. Near the back of the main room, there was a stage with a single microphone on it. The stage had green curtains blocking any view of the backstage, and two chairs were set up close to them.

They exited the restaurant, and the three entered Finnick's van. Despite the reassurance that Adrian had been found, Benny's mind was still filled with questions. Every single question that entered his mind was, in one way or another, related to that rabbit. He had no idea who that guy was, or why he catnapped Adrian, or tried to dognap _him_. All he knew was that he wanted both of them for a reason, and that there was definitely more to the orphanage vanishing than he first thought.

…

Someone came for them; _both_ of them. Who _was_ the off-white rabbit? Why was he really in Zootopia? Who was it who called him to the city? How many others were called in alongside him? And what was the true endgame of the orphanage's disappearance?

Questions like these filled Zootopia's streets during those times of struggle, and I was the one amongst a frightened populace who wrote them down. Benjamin Collins and Adrian Rory were deeper into the case than anyone first thought, and it was clear that whoever sent for the rabbit wanted no loose ends.

No leads or suspects came up regarding who it might've been that brought the rabbit to Zootopia. But whoever sent him, and whatever the reason for the orphanage truly vanishing would have to be uncovered for another time. For now, the two children would have to be applied to what could possibly be the greatest challenge for any pair of children:

 _School_


End file.
